851 
W25 

*r         UC-NRLF 

^  nil  11  nil 

j         ^B    2^7    151 

Hii^iK 

H 

Mni?Y/fcf/ii 

n 

m 

^ 


CARD    ENGRAVING 


^"d  StMionery  ■ 


fW.    x6  1 


mm 


w 


I 


Western  Series  of  Readers 


Pacific  Ristory  $torlc$ 

ARRANGED  AND  RETOLD  FOR  USE  IN 
THE    PUBLIC   SCHOOLS 

BY 

HARR  WAGNER,  A.  M. 


Westward  the  course  of  empire  takes  its  way; 

The  four  first  acts  already  past, 
A  fifth  shall  close  the  drama  ivith  the  day: 

Time's  7ioblest  offspring  is  the  last. 

—Berkeley. 


VnL'JVE!. 

SAN  FRANCISCO 
THE  WHITAKER  &  RAY  COMPANY 

(INCOBPORATED) 
1896 


\A/Su5 


Copyright,  18%, 

BY 

Harr  Wagner. 


EDUCATION  DEPT 


PREFACE. 

The  voyages  of  discovery  and  notable  events  of  the  West 
Coast  of  America  have  not  been  accessible  to  the  teacher  and 
pupil.  An  honest  attempt  has  been  made  by  the  writer  to 
bring  this  knowledge  to  the  schools  in  the  form  of  an  historical 
reader.  The  book  is  designed  for  the  middle  grades.  The 
direct  form  of  narrative  has  been  observed  ;  clearness  of  state- 
ment, short  words,  and  the  human  side  of  history  have  been 
made  characteristic  features. 

The  stories  of  Balboa,  Magellan,  Cabrillo,  Drake,  the  Dis- 
covery of  Gold,  the  Bear-Flag  Republic,  and  others  are  inter- 
esting on  account  of  the  human  and  heroic  side  of  the 
adventures.  Where  is  the  boy  whose  vision  will  not  be  en- 
larged by  the  picturesque  situation  of  Balboa  — 
"Silent  on  a  peak  of  Darien"? 

The  aim  has  been  to  make  this  a  school-book  for  the  teach- 
ing of  Western  history.  The  mechanical  forms  of  numbered 
paragraphs  and  formal  questions  have  not  been  introduced, 
because  the  progressive  teacher  desires  to  avoid  the  stiffness  of 
the  average  text-book. 

An  effort  has  been  made  to  teach  history  on  the  principle  of 
correlation.  For  this  purpose  the  geography  of  the  West  and 
Southwest  Coast  must  be  thoroughly  studied. 

Myths,  legends,  and  inaccurate  descriptions  have  been 
avoided.  Sufficient  authorities  and  original  documents  have 
been  consulted  so  that  impartial  statements  could  be  made. 


M69875 


4  WESTERN   SERIES    OF   READERS. 

On  the  pedagogical  basis,  that  knowledge  of  the  child  should 
be  builded  on  the  foundation  of  facts  that  lie  nearest  to  it,  this 
book  should  have  preference  over  the  history  stories  of  other 
lands. 

This  book  is  the  first  volume  in  the  "  Western  Series  of 
Readers,"  for  supplementary  work.  The  second  volume  will 
contain  "Pacific  Science  Stories." 

The  story  of  Fremont  and  the  account  of  "Old  Califor- 
nians  "  were  written  by  Joaquin  Miller. 

Topics  for  school  composition  may  be  taken  from  the 
different  stories.  The  pupil  will  not  then  be  puzzled  for  ma- 
terial, and  there  will  be  plenty  of  opportunity  for  original 
suggestions  and  descriptive  writing. 

Teachers  will  use  different  methods ;  but  all  teachers  who 
desire  to  be  successful  will  use  the  blackboard,  the  globe, 
maps,  and  drill  on  new  words. 

Permission  to  use  the  several  poems  by  Bret  Harte  was 
kindly  granted  by  Houghton,  Mifflin  &  Co. 


IN  PREPARATION. 

Excellent  results  in  reading  may  be  obtained  by  teaching 
the  geography  and  literature  of  an  article  before  the  child  ia 
given  the  task  of  the  interpretation  of  the  thought. 

Example — An  outline  map,  showing  the  location  of  Spain, 
Hayti,  Darien,  and  the  point  where  Balboa  took  possession  of 
the  Pacific,  should  be  drawn  by  the  pupil. 

The  story  should  not  be  read  until  the  pupil  has  studied  it, 
and  has  been  drilled,  and  drilled,  on  the  proper  names  and  un- 
familiar words. 

The  voyages  of  Magellan,  Cabrillo,  and  Drake  open  up  for 
the  larger  vision  of  the  child  the  Southern  Seas  and  the  entire 
coast  of  the  Pacific,  from  Cape  Horn  to  the  Golden  Gate.  It  is 
a  vision  that  begins  with  the  child's  experience  and  extends 
almost  to  endless  space.  The  child's  mind,  in  the  fourth,  fifth, 
sixth,  and  seventh  grades,  is  especially  susceptible  to  expan- 
sion. 

The  "Pacific  History  Stories"  have  the  advantage  of 
appealing  more  strongly  to  the  pupil  than  a  trip  to  the  moon, 
because  they  are  real,  and  the  geography  of  the  stories  is  more 
or  less  familiar. 

The  teacher  may  develop  the  correlation  of  Geography,  His- 
tory, and  Literature  in  these  stories. 

The  historical  information  is  valuable ;  but  the  main  pur- 
pose of  the  book  is  to  place  in  the  hands  of  the  teacher  a 
volume  that  will  stimulate  a  desire  in  the  pupil  for  historical 


6  WESTERN   SERIES    OF    READERS. 

reading,  accurate  thinking,  and  form  a  basis  for  the  human 
side  of  the  history  and  geography  of  the  West. 

The  pictures  in  the  book  should  be  used  to  make  more 
effective  the  text.  The  teacher  should  frequently  refer  to 
them,  and  have  the  pupils  note  the  characteristic  features  of 
each  one.  Several  of  the  pictures  are  from  drawings  of  J.  D. 
Strong,  who  was  with  Robert  Louis  Stevenson  in  the  South 
Pacific  Seas. 

The  blackboard  words,  and  even  the  reference  topics,  should 
be  correctly  written  on  the  board,  on  paper  or  slate.  The 
more  definite  the  emphasis,  the  deeper  the  impression. 

Carlyle,  in  his  advice  to  his  nephew,  said  in  reference  to 
histoi;y  :  "  Never  read  any  such  book  without  a  map  beside 
you  ;  endeavor  to  seek  out  every  place  the  author  names,  and 
get  a  clear  idea  of  the  ground  you  are  on  ;  without  this  you 
can  never  understand  him,  much  less  remember  him.  Mark 
the  dates  of  the  chief  events  and  epochs ;  write  them  ;  get  them 
fixed  into  your  memory  —  chronology  and  geography  are  the 
two  lamps  of  history."  Harr  Wagner. 


A   KEY   FOR    PRONOUNCING   WORDS    OF    SPANISH 
DERIVATION. 

A  THOROUGH  drill  on  the  following  sounds  will  be  helpful. 
The  children  of  the  Pacific  Coast  are  required  to  use  many 
foreign  words.    In  pronunciation  of  Spanish  words  — 

give  a  the  sound  of  ah ; 

give  e  the  sound  of  ay  ; 

give  i  the  sound  of  ee ; 

givej  the  sound  of  h ; 

give  0  the  sound  of  oh  ; 

give  u  the  sound  of  oo ; 

h  is  silent ; 

II  is  sounded  like  Hi  in  million  ; 

n  is  sounded  like  ny  in  lanyard ; 

hua  is  sounded  like  wa  in  water. 


SOME   NOTABLE  VOYAGES. 

1492— Columljus  discovers  certain  West  Indian  Islands. 

1497— Jolin  Cat>ot  discovers  land  in  the  vicinity  of  the 
Gulf  of  St.  Lawrence. 

1498— Vasco  da  Oama  rounds  the  Cape  of  Good  Hope. 

1499— Amerigfo  Vespucci  discovers  the  northern  coast 
of  South  America. 

1513— Balboa  discovers  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

1513— Ponce  de  I^eon  discovers  Florida. 

1519— Cortez  conquers  Mexico. 

1519— Mag-ellan  sails  for  the  East  Indies. 

1531— Pizarro  conquers  Peru. 

1539— Hernando  de  Soto  fits  out  his  expedition. 

1540— Coronado  discovers  the  Colorado. 

1542— Cat>rillo  sails  along  the  Coast  of  California. 

1577— Sir  Francis  Drake  circumnavigates  the  globe. 


CONTENTS. 

PAGE 

The  Story  of  How  Balboa  Discovered  the  Pacific    .  15 

By  the  Balboa  Seas .        .24 

On  First  Looking  into  Chapman's  Homer     ...  25 

Magellan  ;  or,  The  First  Voyage  Round  the  World  26 

Cabrillo 33 

At  San  Diego  Bay 38 

The  Story  of  Drake,  the  Brave  Sailor       ...  42 

The  Story  of  the  Missions 51 

The  Angelus 59 

The  First  Ship  to  Enter  the  Golden  Gate        .        .  61 

The  Discovery  of  the  Rocky  Mountains      ...  65 

The  Story  of  the  Donner  Party 86 

The  Bear-Flag  Republic 101 

The  American  Flag  in  California J 09 

The  Discovery  of  Gold 113 

The  Cocoa-Tree 119 

Who  Named  the  Golden  Gate? 120 

The  Golden  Gate 121 

The  Story  of  Fremont 124 


10  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

How  California  Came  into  the  Union  .       .       .       .132 

The  Story  of  a  Battle  with  the  Indians    .        .        .  136 

San  Francisco 147 

Old  Californians 150 

My  New  Year's  Guests 155 

Appendix 163 

"Who  Named  California? 165 

A  Short  List  of  Books  of  IIeference      .       .       .  167 


ILLUSTRATIONS. 

Balboa  Taking  Possession  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  etc.  .       .   Frontispiece 

In  the  Swamps  of  Darien Page  18 

A  Glimpse  of  a  South  Sea  Island 31 

Pioneer  Voyages  to  the  Pacific 34 

The  Point  of  Pines 37 

Drake  at  the  Extremity  of  Cape  Horn 45 

The  Golden  Hind  in  Drake's  Bay 48 

Deserted 62 

The  Old  Bells  from  the  Mission  San  Diego 53 

Carmel  Mission 55 

Junipero  Serra's  Monument 58 

Seal  Rocks 62 

Mount  Tamalpais  from  the  Bay 63 

Among  the  Buffaloes 71 

The  Sierra  in  the  Distance 76 

Wind  River  Mountains 81 

Donner  Lake  in  Winter 92 

Cache  Creek 102 

General  Vallejo 104 

The  O'.d  Fort  at  Sonoma 106 

The  Flag  Guarding  the  Golden  Gate 110 

Sutter's  Fort 116 

Sutter's  Mill ^ .       .  117 

General  Fremont 126 

Kit  Carson 128 

Fremont's  Headquarters  at  Los  Angeles 129 

Battle  Rock 139 

Aborigines 143 

11 


Balboa  Taking  Possession  of  the  Pacific  Ocean,  Its  Islands  and  Firm 
Lands,  and  All  the  Shores  Washed  by  Its  Waves. 


THE   STORY   OF   HOW   BALBOA.  DISCOVERED  ,  TOE 
PACIFIC.      '  •'•^  '  °*'*  ''^    ' 


HEN  Balboa  was  a  little  boy,  he  lived 

in  Spain.     He  was    seventeen  years 

age   when   Columbus    discovered 

America.     He  was  a  poor  boy, 

and  worked  for  a  deaf   man, 

the  lord  of  Moguer. 

One  day  a  stranger  came  to  the  place 

and  told  him  about  the  great  deeds  of 

Columbus  and  the  wonderful  land  he 

had   discovered.     The  stories  about  the 


Balboa's  Cross. 


new  world  filled 
Balboa  with  a  de- 
sire to'  visit  un- 
known lands. 

To  think,  with 
him,  was  to  act. 
In  a  short  time, 
he  found 
himself  in 
Hayti,  th^n 
known    by 

15 


Reference  Topics. 

The  Barrel  Incident. 

Balboa's  Marriage  to 
the  Indian  Chief's 
Daughter. 

Life  In  Darlen. 

The  First  Mention  of 
the  "Western  Sea. 

First  Sight  of  the 
Pacific  Ocean. 

Balboa  Takes  Posses- 
sion, Sept.  29, 1513. 

Death  of  Balboa. 


16  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

the  musical  Spanish  name,  Hispaniola.  He  tried 
farming,  but  with  no  great  success.  He  produced 
more  debts  than  anything  else,  and  debts  were  as 
much  trouble  then  as  now. 

In-order  to  avoid  the  people  he  owed,  he  hid 
himself  in. a  barrel...  It  was  rolled  on  board  a  ship. 
,Wjheu  •'ti^  ,'oaptain^'.  Eiicisco,  found  him,  the  ship 
wdg  too  far  out  at  sea  to  put  him  off.  The  captain 
was  angry ;  but  Balboa  smiled  and  said :  "  I  know 
a  country  where  there  is  a  lot  of  gold.  I  '11  take 
you  to  it." 

The  captain,  seeing  that  he  was  a  brave,  hand- 
some young  man,  decided  to  make  use  of  him.  On 
the  advice  of  Balboa,  Encisco  sailed  for  Darien. 

The  sailors  liked  Balboa  better  than  they  did 
their  captain;  so  they  chose  him  for  their  leader, 
and  sent  Encisco  back. 

Balboa  became  friendly  with  the  native  chiefs. 
One  day  two  men  came  into  his  camp,  dressed  in 
the  skins  of  wild  beasts.  They  told  him  about  the 
"  Great  Water"  on  the  other  side  of  the  mountain, 
and  of  the  land  of  gold,  afterward  known  as  Peru. 
They  said  that  an  Indian  chief  who  lived  near  by 
had  much  gold. 

The  chief  was  taken  prisoner  and  robbed  of  his 
gold  by  the  Spaniards.  He  wanted  to  be  friendly, 
and  so  gave  Balboa  his  daughter  in  marriage.  He 
then  led  him  to  a  place  where  there  was  a  rich  vil- 


HOW   BALBOA    DISCOVERED   THE    PACIFIC.  .17 

lage.  They  found  plenty  of  food  and  a  fine  drink 
made  from  palm-juice,  which  the  Indians  called 
"  Tuba." 

The  chief  had  a  boy  who  gave  Balboa  gold.  It 
was  divided  among  the  men.  Balboa  kept  a  share 
for  his  red  dog  with  the  black  snout,  called  "  Little 
Lion." 

The  men  fought  about  their  share  of  gold.  The 
young  chief  parted  them,  and  said:  "You  fight 
about  such  stuff;  for  this  you  make  us  slaves  and 
burn  our  towns.  Beyond  the  mountains  is  a  great 
sea.  The  rivers  that  run  into  it  are  filled  with 
gold;  the  people  drink  from  golden  cups." 

Balboa  had  heard  about  the  big  sea  and  the  gold 
many  times  before.  He  made  up  his  mind  that  he 
would  cross  the  high  mountain  and  see  if  the  stories 
he  heard  were  true. 

He  took  with  him  about  two  hundred  men,*  a- 
lot  of  bloodhounds,  including  his  favorite  "  Little 
Lion,"   and   Indians.      On  the  6th  of  September, 
1513,  he  began  his  march  to  the  sea.     It  was  a 
fearful  trip. 

Darien,  now  known  as  the  Isthmus  of  Panama, 
has  seen  the  wrecks  of  many  lives  of  people  who 
have  tried  to  cross  it  since  that  time.  On  the 
eastern  coast  it  is  full  of  sandy  marshes;- farthep- 

*  Pizarro,  who  afterwards  conquered  Peru,  was  with  Balboa  on  this 
journey. 


18 


WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 


inland  dried  and  perished  vegetation  stands,  like 
skeleton  sentinels,  above  the  green  of  the  under- 
brush, which  is  protected  from  the  fiery  hot  sun  by 
its  own  denseness.     The  silent  hotness  of  the  place 


In  the  Swamps  of  Darien. 

is  great.  No  song  of  bird  is  heard.  It  is  like  the 
twilight  stillness  of  a  country  lane  before  sound  of 
cricket  rasps  the  ear. 

Through  the  hot  glare  of  the  sun  and  the  lan- 
guorous heat  of  the  marshes  marched  Balboa  and 
his   men,  clad    in   clumsy   armor.     At   night   the 


HOW   BALBOA    DISCOVERED    THE    PACIFIC.          19 

swamps  were  full  of  pests;  big  snakes  fell  from 
the  trees  on  the  men;  monkeys  chattered  in  the 
trees;  weird,  strange  birds,  with  beautiful  feathers, 
screeched;  the  wild  tiger  growled;  fever  lurked  in 
the  air;  even  the  palm-trees  were  covered  with 
poisonous  vine. . 

At  last  they  came  to  the  foot  of  a  high  mountain. 
Porqu§,  a  chief,  with  one  thousand  men,  met  Bal- 
boa. "What  do  you  want?  I  will  kill  every  one 
of  you  if  you  try  to  cross  my  path."  Balboa 
marched  right  on. 

Porque  and  his  men  tried  to  stop  him  with  their 
big  war-whoops.  When  the  Spaniards  fired  their 
guns  and  let  loose  their  bloodhounds,  six  hundred 
of  the  Indians  were  killed. 

Balboa  and  sixty  of  his  men  now  started  to  climb 
the  mountain.  The  bushes  were  so  thick  the  men 
had  to  cut  paths  with  their  sabers.  At  last  Balboa 
reached  the  top  of  the  mountain.  He  stood,  as 
Keats  said  of  Cortez, — 

"  Silent  upon  a  peak  in  Darien." 

Before  him  was  a  great  ocean.  He  would  be  the 
first  to  see  it.  It  would  bring  him  great  glory. 
Who  can  picture  the  joy  in  his  heart  as  he  beheld 
the  Southern  sea,  the  mightiest  ocean  of  the  globe, 
its  white  foam  fringing  more  than  half  the  world. 
With  the  majesty  of  the  ocean  before  him  and  the 


20  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

majesty  of  God  above  him,  he  turned  his  eyes  from 
one  to  the  other  and  uttered  a  silent  prayer,  ^zx' 

As  the  men  came  up,  Balboa  said:  "There,  my 
friends,  is  the  reward  of  your  labors.  You  are  the 
first  Christians  to  behold  that  sea!"  The  men 
shouted  for  joy.  They  built  a  cross  and  piled 
stones  around  it. 

They  put  the  name  of  the  ruler  of  Spain  on  the 
trees.  Then  Balboa,  in  a  loud  voice,  said :  "  I  take 
possession  of  the  Southern  sea,  with  all  its  islands 
and  firm  lands,  and  all  the  shores  washed  by  its 
waves."  A  paper  was  then  drawn  up  and  signed 
by  each  man,  telling  how  they  were  the  first  to  see 
the  big  ocean. 

The  Indians  did  not  know  why  Balboa  was  so 
interested  about  it.  It  is  doubtful  if  Balboa  himself 
knew  that  the  knowledge  he  gained  would  change 
the  map  of  the  world.    ^ 

He  wanted  to  touch  the  water  with  his  hands. 
It  was  on  the  29th  of  September,  St.  Michael's  day, 
1513,  that  he  sat  down  upon  a  grassy  slope  and, 
waited  for  the  return  of  the  tide. 

When  the  sand  was  covered  one  or  two  feet,  Bal- 
boa, dressed  in  his  armor,  holding  his  sword  and  a 
banner,  with  the  Virgin  and  Child  on  one  side,  and 
on  the  other  the  arms  of  Spain,  marched  into  the 
water.  He  read  to  the  waves  and  the  silences  quite 
a  long  speech,  using  large  words. 


HOW   BALBOA   DISCOVERED   THE   PACIFIC.          21 

He  claimed  that  the  sea  was  his,  and  all  the 
islands  and  all  the  lands  the  waters  touched,  upon 
the  belief  that  "  finders  are  keepers,"  and  took  pos- 
session of  everything  in  sight  in  the  name  of  the 
sovereign  of  Spain.  He  declared  that  he  was  able 
to  fight  all  the  other  nations  on  the  face  of  the 
earth.     It  was  a  big  speech. 

Balboa  did  not  name  the  sea  the  Pacific  Ocean. 
It  was  not  known  by  that  name  until  some  years 
afterward,  when  Magellan  sailed  through  the 
"Straits  of  Eleven  Thousand  Virgins,"  now  known 
by  his  name,  and  found  a  smooth,  placid  sea;  and 
he  gave  it  the  name  Pacific,  which  means  calm, 
peaceful. 

There  is  but  little  more  to  tell  you  about  Balboa. 
On  his  return  he  did  a  very  cruel  thing.  They 
came  to  a  valley  ruled  by  a  rich  Indian,  Poncra. 
He  fled  from  them  and  left  his  gold.  They  wanted 
to  know  where  Poncra  found  so  much  gold;  so  his 
men  captured  him  and  brought  him  back. 

Balboa  asked:  ''Where  did  you  get  the  gold?" 

Poncra  answered :  ^'  I  know  not;  my  fathers  left  it 
to  me."  He  was  tortured,  but  would  tell  no  more. 
In  an  evil  hour  Balboa  let  the  bloodhounds  loose 
on  poor  Poncra,  and  they  tore  him  to  pieces. 

The  enemies  of  Poncra  were  pleased,  and  made 
Balboa  king;  but  this  cruel  act  will  always  stain 
his  name. 


22 


WESTERN   SERIES    OF    READERS. 


The  brave  men  returned  in  triumph  on  the  19th 
of  January,  1514.     They  had  been   gone   a   little 

over   four   months,  and 

brought  back,  not  only  a 
big  sea,  but  gold,  pearls, 
slaves,  weapons,  and 
cloth. 

In  Europe  the  news 
of  the  great  sea  created 
almost  as  much  of  a  sen- 
sation as  the  discovery 
of  America  by  Colum- 
bus. 

Balboa  devoted  him- 
self to  serious  things. 
He  became  very  popu- 
lar. The  rulers  were 
jealous  of  him.  The  gov- 
ernor of  Darien  was  a 
weak  and  wicked  man. 

One  day  Balboa  re- 
ceived a  message  that 
the  governor  wanted  to 
see  him.  He  had  four 
hundred  men,  ships,  and 
gold,  and  would  not  need 
to  have  obeyed  the  governor;  but  he  was  loyal. 
When  he  arrived  he  was  put  in  chains. 


Balboa,  Tasco  Nunez,  a 

Spanish  conqueror,  was  born 
cf  a  noble  but  reduced  family, 
at  Xeres-de-Caballeros,  in  1475. 
After  leading  rather  a  disso- 
lute life  in  his  youth,  he  sailed 
•with  Rodrigo  de  Basiidas  to 
the  New  World.  He  settled  at 
Hayti.  In  1510,  he  joined  the 
expedition  to  Darien,  com- 
manded by  Encisco.  An  in- 
surrection in  the  new  colony 
placed  Balboa  in  supreme  com- 
mand. September  25,  1513,  he 
obtained  the  first  sight  of  the 
Pacific  from  a  mountain-top. 
The  governorship  of  the  terri- 
tories conquered  by  Balboa 
was  obtained  in  1514  by  Pedra- 
rias  Davila,  by  means  of  his 
intrigues  at  the  Spanish  court. 
Balboa  resigned  the  command 
into  the  hands  of  the  new  gov- 
ernor, a  narrow-minded  and 
cruel  man,  and,  in  a  subordi- 
nate pos-ition,  undertook  many 
important  expeditions.  His 
success  only  increased  the  ha- 
tred of  Davila  towards  him.  A 
dispute  arose.  Pedrarias  in- 
duced Balboa  to  deliver  him- 
self up,  promising  him  protec- 
tion. In  violation  of  all  forms 
of  justice,  he  was  beheaded  at 
Santa  Maria,  in  1517. 


HOW   BALBOA   DISCOVERED   THE    PACIFIC.  23 

* 

The  governor  tried  him  for  treason,  and  ordered 
him  beheaded.  He  died  a  brave  man,  declaring 
that  to  Spain  he  was  loyal  and  true.  As  time 
goes  on,  the  good  qualities  of  Balboa  are  remem- 
bered, and  the  evil  forgotten. 

The  brave  men  of  the  sixteenth  century  had  hard 
fates  —  Balboa  and  Raleigh  beheaded;  Columbus 
sent  home  in  chains;  Cortez,  neglected  and  in 
poverty;  Cabrillo  and  Drake  died  of  exposure; 
Magellan  —  well,  that  is  another  story,  which  I  will 
tell  you  in  the  next  chapter. 


BLACKBOARD  WORDS. 

Magellan  (ma  jCl'lan),  Daricn  (da'ie-6n),  Cabrillo  (ka- 
brel'yo),  Pacific  (pil-sif  Ic),  governor  (guv'ern-er),  Encisco 
(en-ces'co),  Spaniard  (span'yerd),  majesty  (maj'es-ty),  Mo- 
guer  (mo-gar'),  Hispaniola  (his-pan-i-o'la),  sovereign  (s6v'- 
er-in,  or  suv'er-in),  qualities  (kwol'i-tiz),  isthmus  (is'miis), 
Balboa  (bal-bo'ii).  

AND  ever,  as  he  traveled,  he  would  climb 
J^    The  farthest  mountain;  yet  the  heavenly  chime, 
The  mighty  tolling  of  the  far-off  spheres 
Beating  their  pathway,  never  touched  his  ears, 
^ut  wheresoe'er  he  rose  the  heavens  rose, 
And  the  far-gazing  mountain  could  disclose 
Nought  but  a  wider  earth;  until  one  height 
Showed  him  the  ocean  stretched  in  liquid  light, 
And  he  could  hear  its  multitudinous  roar. 
Its  plunge  and  hiss  upon  the  ptbbled  shore. 
Then  Jubal  silent  sat,  and  touched  his  lyre  no  more. 

He  thought,  "  This  world  is  great :  but  I  am  weak." 

—George  Eliot. 


TKe  gc^erx  [leece  is  ^I  oygeet,^ 
Ovr  Kills  a^re-girt  ii\  sK^gj 
Ovr  qolderx  flower -f' 
"  rhoaey  Kive5 
Mor^ir  Qyr|rv/its  Q 


Ber\eat^^fe^pa:idr\r 

Gold  apples  of  t1^ 

I1ar\q  at  our  qof^l^^ates  for  aye 
Ovr  goiderv  shores  Kave  goIdei\  keys 
Where  sound  a^d  sir\g  the  Balboai  Seas. 


•J9AQUIN' MILLER' 


AucKh 
Ai\d 

WKi(^M#=rrf'   "^ 
0[r  (fane  Wt 

^rdicf 


Till  I  hei 
Ther\  felt 
Whenane 
Or  like  stout 
tie  stared  B.t  the 
Look'd  at  each  o 
Siler\t,vpor\apeak 


realms  o^old, 
dkingdoi^s  seei\: 
aye  I  i^er\ 

told 
er(\es[\e 
rene 
bold 
H^frie  skies 
to  t\is  ket\ 
eaqle  eyes 
r\dallKisme[\ 
ilKar^ildsvmise 
\T\  Darier\- 

-KEATS' 


MAGELLAN;  OR,  THE  HRST  VOYAGE  ROUND 
THE  WORLD, 


ERNAN  Magellan  grew  to  manhood 
in  a  quaint  old  town  in  Northern 
Portugal  called  Villa  Real. 

When  a  boy,  he  climbed  the  rug- 
ged, lofty  mountains  near  his  home, 
and  hunted  the  wild  boar,  the  deer, 
and  other  game.  On  the  hillsides 
grew  the  luscious,  purple  grapes 
from  which  the  famous  port  wine  is 
made. 

One  day,  when  he  looked  out  upon 
the  w^ide  sea, 


the  hope  came 
upon  him  to 
be  a  captain 
and  skil  ships.  "K 
His  father,' 
who  was  a 
kindly  man, 
asked :  "  What  troubles  you, 
Fernan?'*  and    Fernan    an- 

26 


Reference  Topics. 

Magenan's  Boyhood, 
Services     for     King 

Manuel. 
The  August  Morning 

In  1519. 
October  81,  1580. 
On  the  Paciflc. 
Philippine  Islands. 
Death  of  Magellan. 
l?eturn  of  theVlctorla. 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE  ROUND  THE  WORLD.    27 

swered :  "  I  thirst  for  thrilling  adventures  by  land 
and  sea." 

The  father  replied  :  "  I  '11  send  you  to  our  good 
King  Manuel.  He  will  find  some  exploit  for  you. 
A  stalwart  youth  like  you  will  find  merit  in  his 
royal  eyes." 

Fernan  bade  farewell  to  his  father  and  friends 
and  appeared  before  the  king,  who  received  him 
with  favor.  It  was  not  long  before  he  sailed  to  the 
shores  of  Africa  and  India  and  fought  many  daring 
battles  in  the  service  of  his  native  country. 

Magellan's  desire  to  be  a  great  discoverer  and 
sail  to  unknown  lands  led  him  to  return  to  Portu- 
gal. The  king  was  angry  with  him  for  leaving  his 
post  in  Africa,  and  would  not  listen  to  his  plan 
of  sailing  westward  across  the  Atlantic  to  India. 

A  man  who  read  fortunes  by  the  stars  sent 
Magellan  to  Spain.  King  Charles  was  a  beardless 
boy,  with  a  short,  thick  form,  and  a  head  of  stubby, 
yellow  hair;  but  he  was  brave  and  ambitious,  and 
he  ordered  five  vessels  to  be  made  ready  for  the 
daring  captain  from  Portugal. 

Fernan  met  his  old  sweetheart,  Beatrix,  in  Se- 
ville. She  had  heard  about  his  exploits  in  Africa. 
Her  blushes  told  Magellan  that  she  still  loved  him. 
Before  he  sailed  they  were  married.  It  was  with 
a  sad  heart  that  she  watched  the  men  filling  the 
ships  with  food  for  the  long,  perilous  voyage. 


28 


WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 


It  was  a  warm,  soft  August  morning  in  1519,  that 
the  five  little  ships  sailed  from  Seville,  and  left 
behind  them  the  olive-crowned  hills  of  Spain. 

It  was  nearly  two  months  before  the  ships  reached 
the  coast  of  South  America.    The  men  were  glad  to 

' get  on  land  once  more. 

They  found  a  place 
where  there  were  thou- 
sands of  parrots,  and 
one  of  Magellan's  men 
discovered  growing  in 
the  ground  an  oval- 
shaped  tuber  that  grew 
on  a  root. 

The  man  said:  "I 
have  found  an  Italian 
chestnut  growing  in  the 
ground."  The  chestnuts 
were  roasted  on  coals, 
and  tasted  good.  This, 
no  doubt,  is  the  first 
mention  of  the  potato, 
which  John  Hawkins 
took  to  Ireland,  in  1565, 
from  South  America, 
and   is  now  known  as  the  Irish  potato. 

As  they  sailed  south,  they  came  to  a  place  where 
the  Indians  were  as  large  as  giants.     One  of  the 


Magellan,  Fernan,  or 
Fernando,  was  born  in  Opor- 
to, of  good  family,  near  the 
close  of  the  fifteenth  centurj\ 
He  served  with  distinction  un- 
der Albuquerque  in  the  East 
Indies;  but,  King  Manuel  not 
rewarding  him  for  his  services, 
he  went  to  Spain,  in  1517,  with 
Ruy  Falero,  a  geographer  and 
astrologer.  They  laid  before 
Charles  the  Fifth  a  scheme  to 
reach  the  Moluccas  by  sailing 
west.  It  was  received  with  fa- 
vor, and  he  sailed  with  five 
ships  and  two  hundred  and 
thirty-six  men.  He  sailed  to 
the  mouth  of  the  La  Plata  and 
and  along  the  shores  of  Pata- 
gonia, through  the  straits 
which  bear  his  name,  and 
across  the  Pacific,  and  fell  in 
a  fight  with  the  chief  of  the 
Isle  of  Matan,  one  of  the  Phil- 
ippine Islands,  April  26,  1521. 
His  ship  finally  reached  home, 
S-^ptember  6,  1522,  —  the  first 
complete  voyage  around  the 
world. 


THE  FIRST  VOYAGE  ROUND  THE  WORLD.    29 

sailors  got  a  big  Indian  to  look  at  himself  in  a  mir- 
ror. It  was  so  great  a  surprise  to  him  that  he  gave 
a  loud  cry,  and  jumped  back  so  suddenly  that 
he  knocked  three  or  four  sailors  down.  Magellan 
treated  the  Indians  kindly,  and  in  return  was  treated 
kindly  by  them. 

Some  of  the  sailors  wanted  to  return  to  Spain 
and  created  a  mutiny.  Magellan,  with  the  aid  of 
a  few  friends,  captured  the  leaders,  and  gave  them 
no  mercy.  He  ordered  them  shot,  and  then  placed 
his  friends  in  command. 

On  October  21, 1520,  the  heart  of  Magellan  leaped 
with  joy.     He  had  dis- 
covered    the     Southern 
inlet;    the    straits    that 
now  bear  his  name. 

When  the  fleet  came 
to  a  favorable  bay,  two 
ships  were  sent  forward. 
A  storm  arose.  Magellan  thought  the  ships  would 
surely  be  lost,  but  in  a  few  days  they  returned. 
The  captain  said  :  "  Praise  God,  Admiral,  we  have 
found  the  outlet  !'* 

Magellan  took  him  in  his  arms  and  burst  into 
tears.  "  Is  it  true?  Have  you  seen  the  other  ocean 
— the  Western  Ocean  beyond  ?  "  "  We  have  seen  it," 
was  the  answer.  Then  there  was  rejoicing.  It  was 
a  great  day  for  Magellan  and  his  brave  sailors. 


"In 

the   afternoon    they 
unto  a  land 

came 

In 

which   it    seemed   always 

afternoon. 

! 

All 

round  the  Coast  the 
guid  air  did  swoon, 

lan- 

Breathing  like  one  that 

hath 

a  weary  dream." 

30  WESTERN   SERIES    OF    READERS. 

It  was  decided  to  sail  over  the  sea  and  discover 
the  Spice  Islands,  or  Moluccas.  It  was  a  daring 
thing  to  do,  but  they  were  brave  men.  So  they 
sailed  out  on  the  trackless  and  nameless  sea. 

One  day  he  called  his  sailors  about  him  and  said : 
"  Comrades,  we  are  on  an  unknown  sea  —  no  ship 
has  ever  sailed  in  these  gentle  waters.  Comrades, 
I  will  christen  this  calm,  gentle  sea,  the  Pacific." 
The  sea  was  so  calm  that  the  ship  made  no  progress 
at  all  for  weeks. 

No  land  was  in  sight.  The  provisions  were  almost 
out.     The   men  were  attacked  with  scurvy.     The 

biscuits  were  reduced  to 

powder  and  full  of 
worms.  The  men  had 
to  eat  leather  after  soak- 
ing it  in  the  sea.  About 
twenty  of  the  men  died, 
and  others  were  so  ill  that  hardly  enough  were  left 
to  sail  the  ship.  At  last  they  came  to  some  islands, 
which  are  now  known  as  the  Philippine  Islands^ 
where  there  was  plenty  of  food  and  water. 

At  one  of  the  islands  Magellan  became  very 
friendly  with  the  native  king.  It  was  a  rich  tropical 
island.  Food  was  plenty,  and  he  traded  with  the 
natives. 

Note.— It  is  said  that  Magellan's  voyage,  as  written  by  Irving,  sug- 
gested -'The  Ancient  Mariner"  to  Coleridge.  It  should  be  read  in  con- 
nection with  this  story. 


1 

Alone,  alone 

1 
,  all,  all  alone,            j 

Alone  on  a  wide,  wide  sea, 

And  never  a 

saint  took  pity  on 

My  soul  in 

agony.                        | 

— Coleridge. 

THE  FIRST  VOYAGE  ROUND  THE  WORLD. 


31 


Magellan  was  very  religious.  He  converted  the 
king  to  Christianity. 

One  day  he  went  out  to  fight  the  enemy  of  the 
king.  It  was,  however,  a  sad  day  for  Magellan  and 
his  men.  They  attacked  the  savages  at  midnight. 
There  were  about  fifteen  hundred  savages  against 
Magellan  and  his  forty-nine  men.  The  savage  king 
saw  that  while  the  Spaniards  were  protected  by  the 


A  Glimpse  of  a  South  Sea  Island, 


shields,  that  their  legs  were  exposed;  so  he  ordered 
his  men  to  strike  them  on  their  shins  with  the 
spears.     It  was  a  terrible  battle. 

Many  of  the  Spaniards  fell  lifeless  at  the  feet 
of  their  foes.  It  was  a  brave  struggle.  Magellan 
fought  like  a  tiger.  The  blood  streamed  from  his 
many  wounds.  An  enormous  savage  struck  him 
a  blow  on  he  left  leg,  and  he  sank  forward  on  Ins 


82  WESTERN    SERIES   OF   READERS. 

face.  A  multitude  of  savages  fell  upon  him.  They 
ran  him  through  and  through  with  their  spears. 

Magellan  died  at  the  age  of  forty-one.  He  was 
a  brave  and  heroic  pioneer  of  the  Western  seas. 

But  few  of  his  men  lived  to  complete  the  voyage. 
After  terrible  hardships,  eighteen  men  reached 
Spain  on  the  6th  of  September,  1522,  in  tlie  Vic- 
toria, the  only  ship  that  remained  of  the  gallant 
fleet  that  sailed  away  from  there  years  before.  The 
men  were  given  a  great  welcome.  It  was  thought 
that  all  had  perished. 

Among  the  people  that  looked  wistfully  at  the 
sailors  was  a  beautiful  woman,  dressed  in  black, 
leading  a  little  child.  It  was  Beatrix  and  her 
daughter. 

King  Charles  gave  to  each  sailor  a  pension.  And 
to  the  captain  he  gave  an  image  of  the  globe,  with 
the  motto,  "  You  were  the  first  to  go  around  me." 

A  curious  thing  about  the  voyage  was  that  by 
sailing  from  east  to  west  a  day  was  lost.  But  had 
they  sailed  from  west  to  east  they  would  have 
gained  a  day. 


BliACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Magellan  (ma-j6rian),  adventures  (ad-v6n'tures),  Seville 
(s6v'il,  07-se-viir),  mutiny  (mi"i'ti-ny),  Moluccas  (mo-luk'kas)» 
biscuits  (bis-kits),  Philippine  (fil'ip-pln),  perilous  (per'il- 
tis),  exploits  (6ks-ploits). 


CABRILLO. 


^ABRiLLO  was  the   first   man  to  sail   along  the 
coast  of  California.     On  the  28th  of  Septem- 
ber, 1542,  he  anchored  in  a  harbor  which 
he  named  San  Miguel.     The  man  who 
reported  the  voyage  wrote:  "A  wind 
^^  blew  from  the  west-southwest  and 

"^        south-southwest;  but  the  port  be- 
ing good,  they  felt  nothing." 

The  harbor  is  now  called  the  Bay  of  San  Diego. 
The  people  there  hold  a  great  festival  each  year  in 
honor  of  Cabrillo.  The  entrance  to  this  harbor  is 
sometimes  called  the  Gates  of  Palm.  Cabrillo  re- 
mained in  the  harbor  six 
days. 

The  Indians  came  down  to 
the  shore  and  looked  at  the 
ship.  They  were  very  timid. 
One  night,  when  the  men 
were  fishing,  the  Indians 
shot  arrows  at  them  and 
wounded  three.  The  sailors 
were  very  careful  after  this. 


Reference  Topics. 

Discovery  of  tlie  Bay 
of  San  Diego. 

Tlie  Indians. 

Interior  Civilization. 

How  Karnes  have 
been    Clianged. 

Cabrillo  Sailing 
Northward. 

Cabrillo' s  Return. 

Death  of  Cabrillo. 


33 


34  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

Cabrillo  learned  from  the  Indians  that,  back  from 
the  ocean,  there  were  men  dressed  and  armed  like 
the    Spaniards.     He  took    great    interest    in    the 


Pioneer  Voyages  to  the  Pacific. 

natives  and  treated  them  kindly.  The  sailors  did 
not  want  to  leave  San  Diego  Bay,  because  it  was 
such  a  good  harbor.  But  Cabrillo  was  anxious  to 
sail  northward.  J 


CABRILLO. 


35 


The  man  who  wrote  descriptions  of  the  places 
Cabrillo  visited  in  his  voyage  did  not  use  exact 
words.  So  the  reader  is  not  always  sure  of  the 
ports- he  meant.  It  is  certain,  however,  he  sailed 
to  San  Pedro,  Santa  Mon- 
ica, and  Santa  Barbara. 
Cabrillo  gave  long  names 
to  these  places,  but  they 
are  not  the  ones  now  on 
the  maps. 

At  Santa  Barbara,  Ca- 
brillo found  some  queer 
natives,  who  wore  their 
hair  long,  and  had  it 
fixed  up  with  some 
strings  of  flint,  bone, 
and  wooden  daggers. 
They  caught  fish,  and 
ate  them  raw.  They  also 
had  good  canoes,  and 
were  better  than  other 
Indians  in  many  re- 
spects. He  heard  stories 
like  those  at  San  Diego,  that,  distant  seven  days' 
journey,  was  a  great  river,  and  that  the  people,  who 
looked  like  the  sailors,  had  towns  there. 

Cabrillo   then   sailed   farther   north.      His   ship 
drifted  northwestward  with  the  wind ;  the  weather 


Cabrillo,  Juan  Rodri- 
guez, was  born  in  Portugal. 
He  s:ailed  from  Navidad,  June 
27,  1542,  with  two  ships  —  the 
San  Salvador  and  the  Victoria. 
On  July  2d,  he  reached  Santa 
Cruz,  in  Lower  California.  He 
sailed  northwestward  and  ex- 
amined the  coast  with  great 
care,  especially  with  reference 
to  its  capes  and  roadsteads.  He 
gave  the  present  name  to  the 
Bay  of  Magdalena.  The  Bay  of 
Todos  los  Santos  was  named 
by  him  San  Mateo.  In  the  lat- 
ter part  of  September  he  passed 
the  Coronado  Islands,  and 
sailed  into  the  bay  now  known 
as  San  Diego,  which  he  named 
San  Miguel.  He  discovered  the 
islands  of  Santa  Cruz,  Santa 
Rosa,  and  San  Miguel.  At  the 
latter  place  he  died,  January  3, 
15-13.  Ferrelo,  his  chief  pilot, 
took  command  of  the  expedi- 
tion. To  Cabrillo  belongs  the 
honor  of  the  discovery  of  Cali- 
fornia. 


36  westp:rn  series  or  readers. 

was  pleasant,  the  coast  rough,  without  harbors, 
and  off  in  the  distance .  lofty  mountains,  covered 
with  snow. 

One  morning  at  dawn,  as  the  sun  sowed  its  path 
of  gold  across  the  brown  hills  to  the  sea,  he  saw  a 
point  of  land  covered  with  pines.  He  called  it  the 
Cape  of  the  Pines.  Then  he  sailed  on  and  on  — 
past  the  Golden  Gate  and  the  great  harbor  within, 
to  Point  Reyes. 

History  says  he  turned  southward,  and  "  de- 
scended under  lofty  snow-capped  mountains  so 
near  that  they  seemed  about  to  fall  on  them."  The 
ship  anchored  in  a  little  harbor  at  San  Miguel 
Island,  near  Santa  Barbara.  One  day  Cabrillo  fell 
and  broke  his  arm.  He  was  not  careful  with  it, 
and  it  brought  on  an  illness  which  resulted  in  his 
death,  January  3,  1543.  His  dying  words  were: 
"  Sail  northward,  at  all  hazards." 

No  trace  of  his  grave  can  be  found;  no  stone 
marks  the  spot  where  his  body  rests.  He  did  not 
seem  to  have  the  pirate's  heart,  like  Balboa,  Drake, 
Pizarro,  and  so  many  other  of  the  sea  kings  who 
made  voyages  to  the  Pacific. 

The  books  do  not  contain  long  accounts  of  his 
deeds;  yet  his  services  to  the  world  will  not  be  for- 
gotten. If  monuments  are  an  honor,  then  the 
people  of  the  West  Coast  ought  to  erect  one  to  the 
man  who  made  the  first  voyage  to  California. 


CABRILLO. 


37 


BLiACKBOARD   WORDS. 


Cabrillo  (ka-brel'yo),  San  Miguel  (san  me-ggl'),  Reyes 
(rays),  San  Diego  (siin  de-a'go),  hazards  (hi\z'erdz),  anchored 
(aiVkerd),  Pizarro  (pe-zar'ro),  Santa  Rosa  (san'tii  ro'sa),  San- 
ta Barbara  (san'ta  Vjar'ba-ra),  Balboa  (bal-bo'a). 


The  Point  of  Pines. 


An,  what  is  .this 
Old  land  beyond  the  seas,  that  you  should  miss 
For  her  the  grace  and  majesty  of  mine  ? 
Are  not  the  fruit  and  vine 
Fair  on  my  hills,  and  in  my  vale  the  rose  ? 
The  palm-tree  and  the  pine 
Strike  hands  together  under  tlie  same  skies, 
In  every  wind  that  blows. 

—  INA   D.   COOLBRITH. 


AT    SAN   DIEGO   BAY. 


BY    MADGE    MORRIS    WAGNER. 

ERE  first  on  California's  soil, 
Cabrillo    walked   the   lone- 
some sands; 
Here  first  the  Christian  stand- 
ard rose 
Upon  the  sea-washed  West- 
ern lands, 
And  Junipero  Serra  first 
Laid  loving  hands. 

What  saw  they  here,  that  fearless  band, 
To  bless,  or  touch  with  loving  hand  ? 
Or  bid  them  pause,  or  dream  to  stay, 
Around  this  silent,  sleeping  bay? 

An  acreage  of  many  miles, 

Vast  miles  of  sun-burnt  naked  space, 
Red,  brown,  and  bare,  and  baked  as  tiles; 

Whose  surface  lay  unchanged  of  face 
As  it  had  lain,  the  hills  among. 
Since  first  Creation's  psalm  was  sung; 


AT   SAN   DIEGO   BAY. 


39 


Whose  people  watched  the  squirrels  play, 
And  knew  not  any  more  than  they. 

Not  these  alone,  the  fathers  saw 

Not  these  made  hardships  doubly  sweet  — 
He  never  sees  his  arrow's  flight 

Who's  always  looking  at  his  feet;  — 
Those  holy  fathers,  wiser  they, 

They  marked  the  broad  expanse  of  plains, 
And  mountains  gushing  crystal  life 

Enough  to  fill  its  thirsting  veins; — 
They  saw,  far  off,  the  mingled  weft 

Of  colors  wrought  from  out  the  soil, 
When  Nature  rounds  upon  her  loom 

The  laborer's  legacy  of  toil. 

They  served,  and  toiled,  and  built,  and  planned, 
But  ever  saw  a  promised  land; 
And  heard  its  slowly  rising  swells 
Ring  joyous  from  their  mission  bells. 

Decades  past,  and  fifty  years, 

A  century  was  born  and  died; 
A  nation  struggled  into  birth, 

And  rose  to  midday  of  its  pride. 
And  freedom's  war-wet  staff  was  set 

Beside  that  one  of  love  and  peace; 
And  suns  of  noons,  and  midnight  moons, 

Unwove  and  wove  time's  ageless  fleece. 


40  WESTERN    SERIES    OP    READERS. 

Time  crept  by  the  mission  bells, 

And  back,  and  tied  their  tongues  with  rust, 
And  touched  the  eye-lids  of  the  priest. 

And  garmented  his  bones  with  dust. 

The  glory  of  the  mission  passed, 

Its  gloom   its  glory  overcast. 

Within  its  corners,  shadow-walled. 

The  bats  built  nests;  the  lizard  crawled 

Upon  the  sunny  side  to  sit. 

With  soulless  eyes,  and  laugh  at  it. 

But  smile  not  ye  with  scornful  lips. 

Nor  croak  a  prophecy  of  this; 
There  's  nothing  lost  that 's  lost,  and  naught 

That  once  has  lived  has  lived  amiss. 
Nay,  smile  not  ye,  nor  count  that  false 

Which  failed  iu  promises  it  gave ; 
Gold  is  gold,  though  it  go  down 

A  thousand  fathoms  in  the  wave; 
And  brighter-hued  the  blossom  is 

That  blooms  upon  a  grave. 

In  silence  sleeps  the  bay  no  more  — 
Its  treasury  of  wealth  is  found ; 

And  all  its  crescent-curving  shore 
With  infant  cities  girded  round  ; 


AT    SAN    DIEGO    BAY. 

And  through  its  gateway  come  and  go 
The  sails  of  sun  and  sails  of  snow. 


41 


Progress  to  this  old  new  West 

Has  turned  her  face  and  set  her  seal; 
Has  bound  the  waters,  broke  the  hills, 

And  shod  the  desert  sands  with  steel. 
0  land  of  sun!— hot,  splendid  sun!  — 

Of  sea-cool  winds,  and  Southern  moons!  — 
Of  days  of  calm,  and  nights  of  balm, 

And  languorous,  dreamy  noons! 
It  needs  no  seer  to  tell  for  thee. 
Thy  daring  and  thy  destiny. 


THE   STORY   OF  DRAKE,   THE   BRAVE   SAILOR, 


!^iR  Francis  Drake  was  the  first  English- 
man to  sail  around  the  world.  He  was 
also  the  first  to  sail  along  the  coast  of 
California.  Some  of  his  adventures 
were  wild  and  thrilling. 
He  was  born  in  Devonshire,  England, 
in  1539,  near  where  that  other  brave  sailor  and 
friend  of  Queen  Elizabeth,  Sir  Walter  Raleigh, 
lived.  His  cousin  was  the  brave  sea-captain,  John 
Hawkins.     He  heard  many  stories  about  the  sea. 

The  wonderful    adventures  of  Columbus,  Bal- 
boa, Magellan,  Cabrillo,  and 
others  gave   him  an  ambi- 
tion to  be  a  sailor. 

One  day,  w^hile  visiting 
the  sea-coast,  he  met  a  queer 
old  man  who  owned  a  little 
ship..  This  bachelor  sea- 
captain  took  a  great  fancy  to 
Drake  —  and  well  he  might, 
for  Drake  was  a  brave  lad. 
He  made  several  sea  trips 

42 


Reference  Topics. 

Compare  Drake  -with 
Spanish  Explorers. 

Jolm  Ila-wkins,  the 
Slave-Trader. 

The  Spanish  Armada. 

Drake  on  Cape  Horn. 

First  Religious  Ser- 
vice in  California. 

The  Queer  Animals. 

Death  of  Drake. 

The  Golden  Hind. 


THE   STORY   OF   DRAKE. 


43 


with  this  old  captain, 
the  old   man   died   and 
left  his  ship  to  his  young 
mate. 

It  was  not  long  after 
this  time  that  his  cousin, 
John  Hawkins,  asked 
him  to  sail  with  him  to 
the  New  World.  His 
cousin  told  him  about 
the  profits  in  the  slave 
trade,  and  of  the  chances 
to  get  gold.  The  Eng- 
lish and  Spanish  were 
at  war.  Drake  thought 
it  was  all  right  to  attack 
Spanish  ships  and  Span- 
ish towns,  and  to  take 
all  the  gold  that  he 
could  find.  He  secured 
so  much  gold  and  cap- 
tured so  many  ships  that 
he  became  a  great  hero. 

His  men  landed  at 
Darien,  where  Balboa 
had  been  before.  Drake 
heard  stories  from  the 
Indians  how  the  Spanish 


On  one  of  these  voyages 


Drake,  Sir  Francis,  was 

born  in  a  cottage  on  the  banks 
of  the  Tavy,  in  Devonshire. 
His  father  was  a  yeoman,  and 
had  twelve  sons.  He  went  to 
sea  with  a  neighbor  of  his 
father's,  who  possessed  a  bark. 
Drake  fell  heir  to  the  vessel. 
While  coasting  about,  he  heard 
of  the  exploits  of  Hawkins  and 
the  New  World.  He  fitted  out  a 
vessel,  and  with  wild  and  reck- 
less spirits  cruised  in  the  West 
Indies.  In  1517,  he  plundered 
the  town  of  Nombre  de  Dios. 
He  crossed  the  Isthmus  of 
Darien,  saw  the  Pacific  Ocean, 
and  returned  to  England,  laden 
with  spoils,  a  successful  sea- 
rover.  Under  the  sanction  of 
Queen  Elizabeth,  Drake  sailed 
for  the  Pacific.  He  sacked  the 
Spanish  towns  on  the  coasts  of 
Chile  and  Peru.  Hoping  to 
find  a  passage  back  to  the  At- 
lantic, he  sailed  north.  He 
anchored  near  Point  Reyes, 
and  took  formal  possession  of 
the  country  in  the  name  of  the 
Queen  of  England.  He  then 
sailed  across  the  Pacific,  dou- 
bled the  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
and  arrived  at  Plymouth,  Sep- 
tember 26,  1579.  He  was  vice- 
admiral  in  the  fleet  which  j 
destroyed  the  naval  suprem-  ' 
acy  of  Spain,  in  the  Armada.  | 
Drake  died  at  Nombre  de  Dios,  | 
December  27, 1595,  and  the  bold 
sailor  and  buccaneer  was  given 
a  sea  funeral. 


44  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

brought  rich  treasures  from  Peru  across  the  Isth- 
mus. He  decided  to  capture  the  Spaniards  and 
rob  them  of  their  gold.  '' 

Then,  like  Balboa,  he  wanted  to  see  the  '^  Great 
Water."  After  traveling  twelve  days  he  came  to  the 
top  of  a  hill.  His  Indian  guide  told  him  to  climb 
a  tree  and  he  could  see  the  Southern  Ocean. 

He  looked  out  through  the  leafy  branches  of  the 
thee  and  beheld  the  smooth  waters  of  the  Pacific, 

**  On  whose  bosom  sparkled  the  diamonds  of  the  sun." 

He  asked  God  to  give  him  life  and  heart  to  sail  an 
English  ship  upon  the  unknown  sea. 

The  view  of  the  Pacific  made  him  feel  that  he 
would  attain  wealth  and  glory  for  England.  His 
active  brain  formed  many  plans.  The  thought 
that  he  would  bring  proud  Spain  to  the  dust,  fired 
his  fancy.  He  came  down  from  the  top  of  the 
tree  thrilled  with  what  he  saw. 

At  Panama  he  captured  a  mule  train  loaded  with 
bars  of  gold  and  other  treasures.  After  many 
trials,  he  again  reached  the  Atlantic  side  and  sailed 
for  England. 

The  news  of  his  adventures  and  of  his  gold  soon 
spread  through  the  towns.  It  was  on  Sunday, 
the  9tli  of  August,  1573,  that  Drake  landed  in 
Plymouth  harbor. 

He  was  now  a  rich  man.    After  giving  money  to 


I--  ■^- ■  .-'^^ v4E ; 


Drake  at  the  Extremity  of  Cape  Horn. 


46  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

all  his  relatives,  he  still  had  plenty  to  engage  in 
new  enterprises.  He  wanted  to  sail  to  the  Pacific. 
One  day  the  queen  sent  for  him  and  made  him  a 
present  of  a  beautiful  sword,  and  Drake  knew  that 
he  had  her  sanction  to  make  the  trip. 

He  soon  had  a  fleet  of  five  vessels.  At  five  o'clock 
in  the  afternoon,  November  15,  1777,  the  gallant 
fleet  sailed  toward  the  setting  sun. 

After  many  adventures,  Drake  sailed  through  the 
Straits  of  Magellan,  on  the  Golden  Hind,  and  saw 
the  cape  which  stood  at  the  outlet  to  the  Pacific. 

He  cast  anchor  at  the  side  of  some  lofty  cliffs 
and  went  ashore.  He  went  to  the  highest  cliff,  and 
going  to  the  outer  edge  he  flung  his  arms  toward 
the  sea. 

When  he  returned  to  the  Golden  Hind,  one  of 
the  men  asked  him  where  he  had  been.  Drake 
replied  with  a  proud  smile,  "  I  have  been  farther 
south  than  any  man  living."  Drake  left  Cape 
Horn  and  sailed  northward. 

All  of  his  ships,  save  one,  either  met  with  dis- 
aster or  deserted.     So  the  Golden  Hind  sailed  alone. 

It  followed  the  west  coast  all  the  way  from  Cape 
Horn  to  Oregon.  He  believed  that  he  could  find  a 
northern  passage  to  the  Atlantic.  On  his  way 
northward  he  stopped  at  the  towns,  in  order  to  fight 
the  Spanish  and  secure  gold,  silver,  and  food.         j^ 

Drake  had  with  him  on  the  Golden  Hind,  a  chap- 


THE   STORY   OF    DRAKE.  47 

lain  by  the  name  of  Fletcher.  This  man  kept  a 
record  of  the  voyage.  He  tells  in  his  report  that  the 
snow  and  ice  could  be  seen  on  the  mountains  along 
the  coast,  and  that  the  weather  was  so  cold  that 
Drake  gave  up  his  northern  trip  and  returned  south. 

It  was  in  June  that  Drake  found  a  harbor.  Some 
say  that  it  was  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.  But  it  is 
more  than  likely  that  he  sailed  by  the  Golden  Gate, 
not  dreaming  that  within  its  portals  was  one  of  the 
finest  harbors  in  the  world. 

He  anchored  at  what  is  known  as  Drake's  Bay, 
near  Point  Reyes.  The  Indians  came  down  to  the 
ship,  and  treated  the  sailors  very  kindly,  regarding 
them  with  awe.  The  ship  remained  over  one  month 
at  this  place.  It  was  repaired  and  a  new  supply  of 
water  and  food  secured. 

Chaplain  Fletcher  here  held  the  first  religious 
service  in  California.  Drake  made  a  journey  in- 
land, and  saw  fat  deer  and  thousands  of  queer  little 
animals  that  had  tails  like  rats  and  paws  like 
moles.  The  people  ate  them,  and  the  kings  had 
holiday  coats  made  of  their  skins.  All  this  is 
described  in  quaint  old  English  that  would  be 
hard  for  the  modern  schoolboy  to  spell. 

Drake  named  all  of  California  New  Albion  — 
first,  because  it  had  so  many  white  banks  and 
cliff's;  and  second,  because  Albion  was  the  name 
often  applied  to  old  England. 


4S  WESTERN   SERIES    OP   READERS. 

Then  he  sailed  west,  and  sailed,  and  sailed,  and 
sailed,  till  he  reached  England.  He  had  gone 
around  the  world  in  two  years  and  ten  months, 
and  had  secured  gold  and  disabled  many  Spanish 
ships.     Cle- 

Queen  Elizabeth  visited  him  and  dined  with  him 
aboard  the  Golden  Hind.    The  queen  took  his  sword 


The  Golden  Hind  in  Drake's  Bay. 


and  said:  "This  sword,  Drake,  might  still  serve 
thee.  Thou  hast  carried  it  around  the  globe ;  but  ere 
we  return  it  to  thee,  it  must  render  us  a  service." 
Gently  tapping  Drake  on  the  shoulder,  she  said  in 
a  clear  voice,  "  Rise,  Sir  Francis  Drake." 


THE    STORY    OF    DRAKE.  49 

He  was  now  a  knight.  He  had  sailed  around  the 
globe.  He  had  defied  danger  in  every  form.  He 
had  dealt  terrible  blows  to  the  Spaniards.  He  had 
made  numerous  discoveries.  He  had  returned 
rich,  a  conqueror,  a  pioneer.  His  exploits  thrilled 
the  people. 

He  continued  to  fight  the  Spaniards  for  some 
years,  winning  new  laurels.  King  Philip  of  Spain 
sent  to  Queen  Elizabeth  the  Latin  verse,  which 
translated  reads  thus: 

•'  These  to  you  are  our  commands : 
Send  no  help  to  the  Netherlands. 
Of  the  treasures  took  by  Drake, 
Restitution  you  must  make." 

In  reply,  Drake  fought  the  Spanish  Armada,  and 
continued  to  take  treasures.  He  then  returned  to 
the  field  of  his  first  success,  and  attempted  to  cap- 
ture Panama.  His  men  died  by  the  score  with 
fever.  He  was  also  taken  sick ;  and  one  bright,  genial 
morning  in  January,  in  1596,  he  arose  to  go  on 
deck,  but  fell  back  and  died,  surrounded  by  his 
men,  and  he  was  buried  beneath  the  waters  that  he 
loved  so  well. 

The  Golden  Hind  was  ordered  preserved.  It  was 
kept  for  one  hundred  years,  but  it  has  long  since 
decayed.  A  chair  made  from  its  timbers  was  given 
by  Charles  II.  to  Oxford  University,  and  it  may  be 
seen  yet — a  memento  of  the  first  English  ship  to 


50 


WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 


touch   California's  shores,  and   of  its  bold  captain, 
Sir  Francis  Drake,  the  sea-king  of  Devon. 

Note.— The  Prayer-Book  Cross  iu  Golden  Gate  Park,  the  gift  of  G.  W. 
Childs,  was  erected  in  honor  of  Drake's  voyage  to  California. 


BLACKBOARD   AVOJRDS. 

Englishmen  (in'glish-men),  adventure  (M-ven'tur), 
bachelor  (brich'c-lor),  chaplain  (clijtp'lin),  San  Francisco 
(sjln  frtln-sis'co),  translated  (trans-lat'ed),  'university  (u'ni- 
ver'si-ty),  memento  (me-men'to),  restitution  (res-tl-tvVshun), 
exploit  (eks-ploits'),  Plymouth  (plim'iith),  Armada  (iir- 
mtVda,  or  iir-mii'da). 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  MISSIONS. 


HE  planting  of  the  Cross  in  California 
is  full  of  heroic  interest. 

In  the  most  beautiful  places  from 
San  Diego  to  San  Francisco,  Junipero 
Serra  and  his  followers  built  missions. 
After  a  lapse  of  more  than  a  hundred 
years,  they  stand  as  landmarks  of  the 
devotion  of  the  earliest  pioneers. 

The  founders,  in  the  selection  of  sites, 
chose  tiie  most  attractive  places,  and 
adopted  a  style  of  architecture  that  is 
the  basis  of  some 


of  the  handsomest  modern 
buildings. 

The  buildings  have  the 
color  and  atmosphere  of  Cal- 
ifornia. They  seem  to  have 
grown  up  out  of  the  brown 
soil.  The  soft  dove-color  of 
the  adobe  walls,  the  red- 
brown  tiles  of  the  roof,  the 
olive  leaves  on  the  trees,  the 

51 


Reference  Topics. 

Junipero  Serra's 
Overland  Journey. 

Bay  of  San  Dlegro. 

Mission  at  San  Diego. 

The  Journey  to  Mon- 
terey. 

Mission  Bells. 

Lilfe  and  Character 
of  Junipero  Serra. 

The  Missions. 

Xiandmarks  of  Span- 
ish Civilization. 


52 


WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 


violet  haze  of  the  distant  mountains,  the  tawny  hue 
of  the  hills,  all  harmonize  with  each  other. 

It  was  at  noon  on  July  1, 1769,  that  Junipero  Serra 
stood  on  the  mesa  above  San  Diego  Bay.  It  is  said 
that  as  he  looked  out  across  the  soft  wind-dimpled 
ocean  and  about  him,  his  soul  was  filled  with  de- 
light, and  he  stooped,  took  a  golden  poppy,  touched 


Deserted. 


it  with  his  lips  and  exclaimed  :  "  Copa  de  oro  !  the 
Holy  Grail  I     I  have  found  it ! " 

Junipero  Serra,  whose  name  was  Jose  Miguel  be- 
fore he  devoted  himself  to  the  church,  had  walked 
all  the  way  from  the  City  of  Mexico  to  San  Diego. 

The  ship  San  Carlos  had  sailed  from  San  Bias, 
and  entered  the  harbor  before  the  arrival  of  Junipero 
Serra  and  his  companions. 


THE   STORY    OF    THE    MISSIONS. 


53 


The  journey  overland  was  hard  on  Junipero  on 
account  of  a  painful  affliction  of  his  foot. 

He  asked  one  of  the  men  for  a  remedy  for  the 
ailment.  The  man  replied,  '^  I  know  no  remedy; 
I  am  no  surgeon;  I  can  only  cure  the  sores  of 
beasts." 

"Well,  son,"  replied  Junipero,  "treat  me  as  a 


beast."  The  man  smiled  at  the  request.  He  took 
some  tallow,  mashed  it  between  two  stones,  mixed 
some  herbs  with  it,  and  applied  the  medicine.  The 
relief  was  almost  immediate. 

On  July  14,1769,  Portala,  Father  Crespi  and  about 
sixty  others  started  northward  overland  to  Mon- 
terey, in  accordance  with  instructions  of  Charles  III. 

Junipero  Serra  at  once  began  the  work  of  his  life. 


54  WESTERN    SERIES    OP    READERS. 

On  July  16tli  (the  anniversary  of  the  victory  of  the 
Spaniards  over  the  Moors  in  1212),  he  erected  a 
cross  near  where  the  twin  palms  now  stand  at  San 
Diego.  Mass  was  celebrated.  The  natives  looked 
on,  and  across  their  flat  faces  crept  an  expression 
of  wonder. 

One  night  the  Indians,  who  were  very  fond  of 
cloth,  cut  out  a  piece  of  the  sails  from  the  San 
Carlos.  They  would  not  eat  the  food  of  the  Span- 
iards for  fear  of  sickness.  This  was  fortunate  for 
the  Spaniards,  as  their  supply  was  limited. 

Junipero  did  not  succeed  in  converting  the  In- 
dians at  first;  and  in  fact  they  have  never  been 
great  exemplars  of  any  religion. 

The  little  band  was  attacked  one  night.  Jose 
Maria,  a  servant,  was  killed,  and  several  others 
were  wounded.  The  mission  was  removed  in  1774 
to  a  spot  on  the  San  Diego  River  about  five  miles 
from  the  bay.  Here  palm-trees  were  planted,  an 
olive  orchard  started,  and  ground  cultivated. 

On  November  4, 1775,  eight  hundred  Indians  at- 
tacked the  mission.  Father  Louis  Jayme  and 
several  others  were  killed.  The  mission  was  burned. 
The  few  soldiers,  aided  by  the  settlers,  fought 
bravely.  In  the  morning  the  Indians  picked  up 
their  dead  and  wounded  and  marched  away,  and 
never  renewed  the  attack. 

Junipero  Serra  sailed  for  Monterey  on  April  IG, 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   MISSIONS. 


55 


1770,  to  build  a  mission.  Portala,  Father  Crespi, 
and  companions  had  made  an  overland  journey 
for  the  purpose,  but  had  failed  to  find  the  port  men- 
tioned by  Vizcaino  in  1603. 

Junipero  succeeded  in  finding  an  immense  circuit 
of  smooth  water,  full  of  sea-lions  and  deep  enough 
for  whales.  He  landed,  and  on  the  morning  of 
June  3,  1770,  took  formal  possession  of  the  place. 


THE  Mission  floor  was  with  weeds  o'ergrown, 
And  crumbling  and  sliaky  tlie  walls  of  stone; 
Its  roofs  of  tiles,  in  tiers  and  tiers, 
Had  stood  the  storm  a  hundred  years. 
An  olden,  weird,  medieval  style 
Clung  to  the  moldering,  gloomj^  pile; 
And  the  rhytlimic  voice  of  the  breaking  waves 
Sang  a  lonesome  dirge  in  its  land  of  graves. 
Strangely  awed  I  felt  that  day. 
As  I  walked  in  the  Mission,  old  and  gray, — 
The  Mission  Carmel,  at  Monterey. 

—  Madge  Morris  Wagner. 


56  WESTERN   SERIES   OP   READERS. 

Under  an  oak-tree  an  altar  was  raised,  the  bells 
were  hung,  and  celebration  was  begun  with  loud 
and  vigorous  chimes.  Junipero,  in  alb  and  stole, 
asked  the  blessing  of  heaven  on  their  work.  A 
great  cross  was  erected. 

The  famous  port  of  Monterey  was  in  possession  of 
Spain,  and  the  royal  standard  floated  in  this  remote 
region,  the  squirrels  and  Indians  watching  it  curi- 
ously. 

The  mission  was  changed  from  the  beach  in 
1771  to  its  present  location.  The  beautiful  wild 
roses,  the  roses  of  Castile,  grew  all  about  it.  The 
Monterey  Cyprus,  the  forest  of  pines,  the  Carmel 
River,  the  quiet  crescent-shaped  bay  marked  it  as 
a  beautiful  spot. 

At  this  place  Junipero  Serra  was  aided  by  new 
arrivals,  and  the  Indians  began  to  take  advantage 
of  the  missions. 

The  establishment  of  missions  at  San  Luis,  San 
Gabriel,  San  Juan  Capistrano,  San  Luis  Rey,  Pala, 
Santa  Barbara,  San  Francisco,  and  other  places  went 
on  with  great  rapidity. 

When  the  news  of  the  conquest  of  California 
reached  Old  and  New  Spain,  the  bells  of  the  cathe- 
drals rang  in  tune  with  the  mission  bells  of  San 
Diego,  Monterey,  and  San  Gabriel. 

The  missions  were  founded  by  the  order  known 
as  Franciscans.     Junipero  asked  of  Galvez :  "  Is  St. 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   MISSIONS.  57 

Francis  to  have  no  mission?"  "  Let  him  show  us 
his  port  and  he  shall  have  one,"  was  the  reply. 

The  port  of  St.  Francis  was  shown,  and  San  Fran- 
cisco is  named  after  the  Franciscan  fathers.  The  city- 
flourishes,  though  the  missions  crumble  into  dust. 

The  same  years  that  witnessed  the  conquest  of 
Spain  in  California  saw  war  for  freedom  on  the  At- 
lantic side. 

The  spirit  of  this  work  of  Spain  was  in  Junipero 
Serra.  In  August,  1784,  he  sent  a  letter  of  eternal 
farewell  to  the  Franciscans,  and  prepared  for  death. 
On  August  the  28th,  he  took  leave  of  his  old  friend, 
Palou,  and  went  to  sleep. 

The  mission  bells  tolled  mournfully.  The  people 
covered  his  coffin  with  flowers,  and  touched  his 
body  with  medals  and  rosaries.  His  garments  were 
taken  as  relics.     He  was  buried  at  San  Carlos. 

"  He  ended  his  laborious  life,"  says  Father  Palou, 
"  at  the  age  of  seventy  years  nine  months  and  four 
days.  Eight  missions  were  established,  and  five 
thousand  eight  hundred  Indians  were  confirmed 
as  the  result  of  his  labors  in  Upper  California." 

This  much  was  accomplished  with  great  hard- 
ships. He  limped  from  mission  to  mission,  passed 
sleepless  nights,  listening  to  the  howls  of  the  coyotes, 
and  in  constant  danger  of  an  attack  from  treacher- 
ous Indians.  The  food  was  poor,  clothing  was  scant, 
and  his  shelter  frequently  a  gnarled  oak,  on  which 


58 


WESTERN    SERIES    OF   READERS. 


hurig  the  sacred  mission  bells.  His  name  is  with- 
out a  stain. 

He  followed  the  paths  of  tlie  saints  and  martyrs, 
the  ideals  of  his  sickly  boyhood.  His  work  belonged 
to  a  pioneer  age. 

The  tourist  of  to-day  finds  a  melancholy  interest 
in  the  crumbling  adobe  walls,  the  wide  corridors, 
the  broken  tiles,  the  cracked  bells,  the  odd  nooks, 
and  strange,  weird  owls  and  bats  that  are  now  a 
part  of  the  deserted  missions. 


BLACKBOARD  WORDS. 
Junipero  Serra  (hu-nip'e-ro  s6r'ra),  harmonize  (har'mo- 
iiTze),  mesa  (ma'sa),  San  Carlos  (siin  kar'los),  surgeon  (sei*'- 
juu),  medicine  (med'i-sin),  Portala  (por-tii'la),  Crespi  (kres'- 
pe),  exemplars  (egz-em'plars),  Franciscans  (fran-sis'kans), 
martyrs  (miir'ters),  weird  (werd). 


Junipero  Serra's  Monument. 


B 


THE   ANGELUS. 

(HEARD  AT  THE   MISSION   DOLORES,   1868.) 
BY   BRET    HARTE. 

ELLS  of  the  Past,  whose  long-forgotten  music 
Still  fills  the  wide  expanse, 
Tingeing  the  sober  twilight  of  the  Present 
With  color  of  romance! 


I  hear  your  call,  and  see  the  sun  descending 
On  rock  and  wave  and  sand, 

As  down  the  coast  the  Mission  voices,  blending, 
Girdle  the  heathen  land. 

Within  the  circle  of  your  incantation 
No  blight  nor  mildew  falls; 

Nor  fierce  unrest,  nor  lust,  nor  low  ambition* 
Passes  those  airy  walls. 

Borne  on  the  swell  of  your  long  waves  receding, 
I  touch  the  farther  past, — 

I  see  the  dying  glow  of  Spanish  glory, 
The  sunset  dream  and  last! 

69 


60 


WESTERN   SERIES   OP    READERS. 


Before  me  rise  the  dome-shaped  Mission  towers, 

The  white  Presidio; 
The  swart  commander  in  his  leathern  jerkin, 

The  priest  in  stole  of  snow. 

Once  more  I  see  Portala's  cross  uplifting 

Above  the  setting  sun; 
And  past  the  headland,  northward,  slowly  drifting, 

The  freighted  galleon. 

0  solemn  bells!    wdiose  consecrated  masses 

Recall  the  faith  of  old, — 
O  tinkling  bells !  that  lulled  with  twilight  music 

The  spiritual  fold! 

Your  voices  break  and  falter  in  the  darkness, — 
Break,  falter,  and  are  still ! 

And  veiled  and  mystic,  like  the  Host  descending. 
The  sun  sinks  from  the  hill  I 


,H0OO2n2§ 


ismsid 


^iivn 


T-'^i 


UJ7    , 


THE  FIRST  SHIP   TO   ENTER  ,THE  GOLDEN   GATE, 


THE  ship  San  Carlos  was  the  first  to  sail  through 
the  Golden  Gate  into  the  harbor  of  San  Fran- 
cisco. Drake,  Cabrillo,  Vizcaino,  had  all  drifted  by 
the  bay  locked  in  among  the  hills. 

The  Bay  of  San  Francisco  was  first  discovered  by 
Portala  and  his  land  party,  who  were  looking  for 
the  Bay  of  Monterey.  The  date  was  November  2, 
1769,  over  two  hundred  years  after  Drake  and  Ca- 
brillo had  sailed  along  the  coast  of  California. 

It  was  not,  however,  until  August  5,  1775,  that  a 
ship  entered  the  narrow  straits.  The  San  Carlos 
left  Monterey  under  instruc- 
tions to  sail  to  the  port  of 
San  Francisco  and  make  a 


Reference  Topics. 


Ayala,  the  commander,  set 
sail.  The  ship  crept  cau- 
tiously along  the  shore.  It 
was  nine  days  before  the 
men  on  the  ship  saw  the 
seal  rocks  and  heard  the  sea- 
lions. 

61 


The  San  Carlos. 

Overland  .Tourney  of 
rather  Crespi. 

The  Ships  that  SaUed 
by  the  Golden  Gate.* 

i/ross  on  Point  Lo- 
bes. 

Survey  of  the  Bay. 

Angel  Island. 

Some  of  the  Changes 
that  have  taken 
place. 


62  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

A  launch  was  sent  ahead  to  explore  the  narrow 
passage,  now  known  as  the  Golden  Gate.  The  men 
in  the  little  boat  sailed  in  against  the  fog  that 
mantled  the  hills  on  either  side.  Ayala  followed 
with  his  ship.  At  night  he  anchored  in  the  bay, 
having  safely  passed  through  the  straits. 

The  next  morning  the  ship  San  Carlos  was  moored 
at  an  island,  now  called  Angel  Island. 

It  was  a  delightful  place.  The  picturesque  sur- 
roundings, the  springs  of  pure  water,  the  chaparral, 
^^_,,„  _^  ^.^^.,^^^^,,,_^^^^___^  coves,   and    pebbly 

^5    beach   gave  it  un- 
■    usual       attractions 
for  the  sailors. 

The  launch  was 
used  in  sailing 
about  the  main 
body  of  the  bay 
and  along  its  out- 
^^^'  ^°''^^-  stretched  arms,  the 

rivers,  San  Pablo  and  the  smaller  bays. 

At  Mission  Bay,  now  mostly  filled  up  and  built 
over,  they  saw  three  Indians,  who  were  weeping,  or 
making  noises  resembling  crying,  and  for  this 
reason  the  cove  was  named 

"  The  Cove  of  Weepers." 

A  cross  had  been  planted  by  the  land  party  a  few 


FIRST   SHIP   TO   ENTER  THE   GOLDEN  GATE. 


63 


years  before  on  the  sand  dunes  of  Point  Lobos.  At 
its  foot  Ayala  ordered  two  letters  deposited,  one  de- 
scribing liis  successful  entrance  to,  and  survey  of,  the 
Bay  of  San  Francisco,  the  other  giving  notice  of  his 


Mount  Tamalpais  from  the  Bay. 

return  to  Monterey,  and  asking  that  if  the  land 
party,  which  he  expected,  should  arrive,  to  build  a 
fire  in  sight  of  Angel  Island.  The  party  arrived, 
the  fire  was  lighted,  but  no  response  came  back. 

These  men  camped  by  the  side  of  a  lake,  and 
gave  it  the  name  which  it  bears  to  this  day  —  Lake 
Merced  —  in  honor  of  "  Our  Lady  of  Mercy." 


64 


WESTERN   SERIES    OF    READERS. 


The  ship  San  Carlos  had  remained  for  forty  days 
in  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco.  It  had  taken  posses- 
sion, Ayala  reported,  of  the  best  port  of  Spain.  It 
now  sailed  out  of  the  harbor  and  down  to  Monterey. 

Since  then,  tliousands  of  ships  have  sailed  in 
and  out  through  the  Golden  Gate.  Flags  of  every 
nation  have  been  wafted  to  the  breezes  of  the  bay. 
The  gate  stands  unguarded,  save  by  the  red,  white, 
and  blue  of  "Old  Glory,"  that  floats  over  the  Pre- 
sidio more  as  a  welcome  than  as  a  menace. 


BLACKBOARD    AVORDS. 

Liaiinch  (liinch),  menace  (men'es),  chaparral  (cha'par- 
ral'),  cautiously  (kaw'shus-ly),  Point  Liobos  (poir>t  lo'bos), 
Ayala  (il-ya'la),  pebbly)  peb'bll),  Vizcaino  (ves-ka-ee'no). 


\  , 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   THE   ROCKY   MOUNTAINS. 


GENERAL  Pike,  who  was  killed  in  the  last  war 
with  England  while  leading  his  troops  into 
Caiiada,  was,  perhaps,  the  first  real  discoverer  of  the 
Rocky  Mountains  to  the  south  (1805-6),  as  Pike's 
Peak  will  forever  testify,  but  he  was  preceded  by 
still  more  intrepid  men,  if  possible,  away  up  in  the 
far  north  (1803). 

Their  path  lay  across  what  the  Indians  called 
the  "Shining  Mountains"  and  what  now  is  the 
gold  fields  of  Montana.  They 
passed  within  hailing  dis- 
tance of  the  spot  where  Hel- 
ena, the  capital  of  Montana, 
now  stands. 

Strange  they  did  not  dis- 
cover gold;  for  the  great 
journal  of  Lewis  and  Clark 
speaks  of  quartz  and  of  sil- 
ver and  signs  of  gold. 

This  great  expedition,  the 
first  to  cross  the  Rocky 
Mountains,  is  known  in  his- 


Reference  Topics. 

Pike's  Peak. 

Buffaloes. 

A  Bear  Fight. 

The      River     of    the 

West. 
The    Indians    of  the 

Columbia. 
The  First  Christmas 

on  the  Shores  of  the 

Paclflc. 
i    The    Return    of   tlie 

Party. 
Lie  wis  and  Clark. 
Thomas  Jefferson. 


65 


6(j 


WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 


tory  as  the  Lewis  and  Clark  expedition,  and  was 
made  up  of  Captain  Lewis,  of  the  U.  S.  army,  and 
Captain  Clark,  also  of  the  army,  and  in  direct  com- 
mand of  the  men  in  hand,  consisting  of  nine  young 
citizens  of  Kentucky,  fourteen  soldiers  of  the  army, 

two  French  watermen,  a 
hunter,  an  interpreter, 
and  a  black  servant  of 
Captain  Clark's. 

When  the  expedition 
got  to  the  Missouri  River 
the  Spanish  comman- 
dant of  all  that  vast  re- 
gion reaching  up  from 
what  is  now  Louisiana, 
not  having  yet  had  offi- 
cial information  that  we 
had  any  rights  there, 
refused  to  let  them  pass, 
and  so  the  party  win- 
tered  at   the   mouth   of 

Wood  River. 

' ^1 

Now,  it  is  but  right  to 
give  some  credit  to  a  certain  Mr.  Carver,  of  Boston, 
as  we  go  along,  for  having  in  some  sort  preceded 
Lewis  and  Clark  a  little  ways;  for  he  left  a  map 
and  the  following  note,  dated  1774: 

'^  From  the  intelligence  I  gained  from  the  Wau- 


Lewis,  Meriwether,  ex- 
plorer, was  born  near  Char- 
lottesville, Va.,  August  18, 1774. 
He  was  a  grand-nephew  of 
Fielding  Lewis,  who  married  a 
sister  of  General  Washington. 
At  the  age  of  twenty,  he  vol- 
unteered to  assist  in  putting 
down  Shay's  Rebe.lion.  He  af- 
terwards became  private  sec- 
retary to  President  Jefferson, 
and  was  sent  out  by  Congress 
to  explore  the  continent  to  the 
Pacific.  With  William  Clark 
and  a  company  of  thirty-four 
men.  he  left  Washington,  July 
5,  1803,  and  beheld  the  Pacific 
Ocean  on  November  7, 1805. 

Their  discoveries  were  made 
a  special  message  to  Congress 
in  1807.  Lewis  was  appointed 
governor  of  Missouri,  and 
served  with  distinction.  He 
committed  suicide  on  his  way 
to  Washington,  October,  1809. 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS. 


67 


dowessie  Indians,  whose  language  I  ^perfectly  ob- 
tained during  a  residence  of  five  months,  and  also 
from  the  accounts  I  afterwards  obtained  from  the 
Assinipoils,  who  speak  the  Chippeway  language 
and  inhabit  the  heads  of  the  River  Bourbon  ;  I  say, 
from  these  nations,  to- 
gether with  my  own 
observations,  I  have 
learned  that  the  four 
most  capital  rivers  on 
the  continent  of  North 
America,  namely:  the  St. 
Lawrence,  the  Mississip- 
pi, the  River  Bourbon, 
and  the  Oregon,  or  the 
River  of  the  West,  have 
their  sources  in  the  same 
neighborhood.  The  wa- 
ters of  the  three  former 
are  within  thirty  miles 
of  each  other;  the  latter, 
however,  is  rather  far- 
ther west." 

But,  of  course,  Lewis  and  Clark  were  the  real  dis- 
coverers of  the  head- waters  of  these  great  rivers,  and 
we  must  proceed  with  them.  They  were  equipped 
with  the  steel  frames  of  great  boats,  one  of  them  fifty- 
five  feet  long.  These  frames  they  finally  covered  with 


Clark,  Winiam,  was  born 
in  Virginia,  August  1, 1770.  lie 
entered  the  army  in  1792,  but, 
after  four  years'  service,  had  to 
resign,  on  account  of  ill  health. 
In  1803,  Lewis  chose  him  as  his 
assistant  in  explorations  of  the 
continent. 

After  his  return  from  the 
journej'  of  nearly  8C00  miles, 
Jefferson  nominated  him  as 
lieutenant-colonel  of  the  Sec- 
ond Infantry,  but  the  Senate 
failed  to  confirm  him.  Later, 
he  acted  as  Indian  agent,  witii 
headquarters  at  St.  Louis.  In 
1812,  he  declined  an  appoint- 
ment as  brigadier-general 
Madison  appointed  him  gov- 
ernor of  Missouri,  which  posi- 
tion he  held  until  its  admis- 
sion into  the  Union,  in  1821, 
when  he  failed  to  be  elected  as 
lirst  governor.  He  then  served 
as  Indian  agent  until  the  time 
of  his  death,  September  1,  1838. 


68  WESTERN    SERIES    OP    READERS. 

the  skins  of  butfalo  sewed  together,  and  with  these 
worked  their  way  up  the  Missouri,  taking  a  whole 
year  to  get  within  hearing  of  the  great  falls. 

They  carried  many  presents,  seeds,  beads,  blankets, 
and  all  sorts  of  things  that  might  be  useful  or  pleas- 
ing to  savages,  and  never  in  all  their  first  years  had 
any  trouble  with  them.  Some  Indians  had  fine 
gardens  and  were  very  nearly  civilized,  according 
to  the  volumes  of  the  great  journal,  which  gives  a 
daily  account  of  everything  seen  or  heard.  Here 
is  an  account  of  a  great  feast  there: 

"As  soon  as  we  were  seated,  an  old  man  got  up, 
and,  after  approving  what  we  had  done,  begged 
us  to  take  pity  on  their  unfortunate  situation.  To 
this  we  replied  with  assurances  of  protection. 

"After  he  had  ceased,  the  great  chief  arose  and 
delivered  an  harangue  to  the  same  efi'ect;  then,  with 
great  solemnity,  he  took  some  of  the  most  delicate 
parts  of  the  dog  which  was  cooked  for  the  festival 
and  held  it  to  the  flag  by  way  of  sacrifice;  this  done, 
he  held  up  the  pipe  of  peace,  and  first  pointed  it 
towards  the  heavens,  then  to  the  four  quarters  of 
the  globe,  and  then  to  the  earth,  made  a  short 
speech,  lighted  the   pipe,  and  presented  it  to  us. 

"We  smoked,  and  he  again  harangued  his  people, 
after  which  the  repast  was  served  up  to  us.  It  con- 
sisted of  the  dog  which  they  had  just  been  cooking, 
this  being  a  great  dish  among  the  Sioux,  and  used 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  69 

Oil  all  festivals;  to  this  were  added  pemmican,  a 
dish  made  of  buffalo  meat,  dried  or  jerked,  and  then 
pounded  and  mixed  raw  with  grease,  and  a  kind  of 
ground  potato,  dressed  like  the  preparation  of  Indian 
corn  called  hominy,  to  which  it  is  little  inferior. 

"  Of  all  these  luxuries  that  were  placed  before  us 
on  platters,  Avith  horn  spoons,  we  took  the  pemmican 
and  potato,  which  we  found  good,  but  we  could,  as 
yet,  partake  but  sparingly  of  the  dog." 

But  while  there  was  no  trouble  with  Indians  to 
speak  of  on  this  outward  march,  they  were  con- 
stantly battling  with  the  most  formidable  and 
ferocious  bears  ever  heard  of. 

These  were  mostly  the  same  as  what  is  now  called 
the  California  grizzly.  But  even  the  brown  bears 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains  were  terrible.  Here  is  the 
journal's  account  of  a  battle  with  a  brown  bear: 

"Towards  evening  (on  the  14th)  the  men  in  the 
hindmost  canoe  discovered  a  large  brown  bear  lying 
in  the  open  grounds,  about  three  hundred  paces 
from  the  river.  Six  of  them,  all  good  hunters, 
immediately  went  to  attack  liim,  and,  concealing 
themselves  by  a  small  eminence,  came  unperceived 
within  forty  paces  of  him. 

''Four  of  the  hunters  now  fired,  and  each  lodged 
a  ball  in  his  body,  two  of  them  directly  through 
the  lungs.  The  furious  animal  sprang  up  and  ran 
open-mouthed  upon  them. 


70  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

"As  lie  came  near,  the  two  hunters  who  had 
reserved  their  fire  gave  hira  two  wounds,  one  of 
which,  breaking  liis  shoulder,  retarded  his  motion 
for  a  moment;  but  before  they  could  reload,  he 
was  so  near  that  they  were  obliged  to  run  to  the 
river,  and  before  they  had  reached  it  he  had  almost 
overtaken  them.  Two  jumped  into  the  canoe;  tlie 
other  four  separated,  and,  concealing  themselves 
in  the  willows,  fired  as  fast  as  they  could   reload. 

"They  struck  him  several  times;  but,  instead  of 
weakening  tlie  monster,  each  shot  seemed  only  to 
direct  him  towards  the  hunters,  till  at  last  he  pur- 
sued two  of  them  so  closely  that  they  threw  aside 
their  pouches  and  guns,  and  jumped  down  a  per- 
pendicular bank  of  twenty  feet  into  the  river. 

"The  bear  sprang  after  them,  and  was  within  a 
few  feet  of  the  hindmost,  when  one  of  the  hunters 
on  shore  shot  the  beast  in  the  head  and  finally  killed 
him.  They  dragged  him  to  the  shore,  and  found 
that  eight  balls  had  passed  through  him  in  different 
directions.  The  bear  was  old,  and  the  meat  tough^ 
so  that  they  took  the  skin  only,  and  rejoined  us  at 
camp."  * 


*  When  you  bear  in  mind  that  these  reports  are  official,  and  made  by 
United  States  army  officers,  who  made  it  a  point  of  honor  to  state  tilings 
exactly  as  they  took  place,  you  will  understand  that  these  few  men  had 
a  verv  lively  time  ;  for  nearly  every  day  they  had  some  sort  of  adventure 
with  wild  animals.  The  buffalo  were  so  numerous  that  they  often  had 
to  take  care  to  keep  out  of  their  way,  for  fear  of  being  trampled  to  death. 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS. 


1 


Here,  under  date  of  May  29,  1804,  we  read: 
^^  May  29.     Last  night  we  were  alarmed  by  a  new 
sort   of  enemy.     A  buffalo   swam   over   from   the 
opposite  side  and  to  the  spot  where  lay  one  of  our 
canoes,  over  which  he  clambered  to  the  shore. 

''Then  taking  fright,  he  ran  full  speed  up  the 
bank  towards  our  fires,  and  passed  within  eighteen 


Among  the  Buffaloes. 

inches  of  the  heads  of  some  of  the  men  before  the 
sentinel  could  make  him  change  his  course. 

"Still  more  alarmed,  he  ran  down  between  our 
fires,  within  a  few  inches  of  the  heads  of  a  second 
row  of  the  men,  and  would  have  broken  into  our 
lodge  if  the  barking  of  the  dog  had  not  stopped  him. 


72  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

"  He  suddenly  turned  to  the  right  and  was  out  of 
sight  in  a  moment,  every  one  seizing  his  rifle  and 
inquiring  the  cause  of  alarm.  On  learning  what 
had  happened,  we  had  to  rejoice  at  suff"ering  no 
more  injury  than  some  damage  to  the  guns  that 
were  in  the  canoe  which  the  huffalo  crossed." 

The  whole  region,  as  far  as  the  eye  could  reach, 
up,  down,  right,  or  left,  was  one  vast  undulating 
world  of  wild  beasts  and  roving  bands  of  Indians, 
with  here  and  there  a  patch  of  corn,  and  melons, 
and  pumpkins  along  the  low,  sandy  river  banks. 
These  primitive  fields  were  tended  by  squaws. 

Their  implements  for  tilling  the  soil  were  sticks 
and  elks'  horns,  hardened  in  the  fire.  But  all  this 
now  is  a  world  of  homes  and  harvest-fields.  At  last 
the  great  falls  of  the  Missouri  were  reached.  The 
men  were  now  in  the  heart  of  the  continent. 

It  would  have  taken  them  longer  to  reach  home 
than  it  would  take  a  man  to  go  manj^  times  around 
the  world  in  our  day.  But  for  all  their  long  absence 
and  distance  from  home,  they  exulted  in  each  great 
discovery,  hoisted  a  new  flag,  and  fired  guns. 

Hear  their  own  account  of  it. 

^^  June  llf..  This  morning  one  of  the  men  was 
sent  to  Captain  Clark  with  an  account  of  the  dis- 
covery of  the  falls.  Captain  Lewis  proceeded  to 
examine  the  rapids.  From  the  falls  he  directed  his 
course  southwest,  up  the  river. 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  73 

^'After  passing  one  continued  rapid  and  three  cas- 
cades, each  three  or  four  feet  high,  he  reached,  at 
the  distance  of  five  miles,  a  second  fall  The  river 
is  here  about  four  hundred  3^ards  wide,  and  for  the 
distance  of  three  hundred,  rushes  down  to  the 
depth  of  nineteen  feet,  and  so  irregularly  that  he 
gave  it  the  name  of  Crooked  Falls. 

"From  the  southern  shore  it  extends  obliquely 
upward  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  j^ards,  and 
then  forms  an  acute  angle  downward,  nearly  to  the 
commencement  of  four  small  islands,  close  to  the 
northern  side.  From  the  perpendicular  pitch  to 
these  islands,  a  distance  of  more  than  one  hundred 
yards,  the  water  glides  down  a  sloping  rock,  with  a 
velocity  almost  equal  to  that  of  its  fall. 

"Above  this  fall  tlie  river  bends  suddenly  to  the 
northward.  While  viewing  this  place  Captain  Lewis 
heard  a  loud  roar  above  him,  and,  crossing  the 
point  of  a  hill  a  few  hundred  yards,  he  saw  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  objects  in  nature.  The  whole 
Missouri  River  is  suddenly  stopped  by  one  shelving 
rock,  which,  without  a  single  niche,  and  with  an 
edge  as  straight  and  regular  as  if  formed  by  art, 
stretches  itself  from  one  side  of  the  river  to  the  other 
for  at  least  a  quarter  of  a  mile. 

"Over  this  it  precipitates  itself  in  an  even,  unin- 
terrupted sheet,  to  the  perpendicular  depth  of  fifty 
feet,  whence,  dashing  against  the  rocky  bottom,  it 


74  WESTERN   SEiilES   OF   READERS. 

rushes  rapidly  down,  leaving  behind  it  a  sheet  of 
the  purest  foam  across  the  river.  The  scene  which 
it  presented  was  indeed  singularly  beautiful. 

"  Just  below  the  falls  is  a  little  island  in  the  mid- 
dle of  the  river,  well  covered  with  timber.  Here, 
on  a  Cottonwood  tree,  an  eagle  had  fixed  its  nest, 
and  was  the  undisputed  mistress  of  a  spot  where 
neither  man  nor  beast  would  venture  across  the 
gulfs  that  surround  it. 

"This  solitary  bird  did  not  escape  the  observa- 
tion of  the  Indians,  who  made  the  eagle's  nest  a  part 
of  their  description  of  the  falls.  Captain  Lewis  now 
ascended  the  hill  behind  him,  and  saw  from  its  top 
a  delightful  plain,  extending  from  the  river  to  the 
base  of  the  snowy  mountains. 

"Along  this  wide,  level  country,  the  Missouri 
pursued  its  winding  course,  while  about  four  miles 
aboVe  it  was  joined  by  a  large  river  flowing  from 
the  northwest.  The  Missouri  itself  stretches  to  the 
south  in  an  unrufiled  stream  of  water,  as  if  uncon- 
scious of  the  roughness  it  must  soon  encounter,  and 
bearing  on  its  bosom  vast  flocks  of  geese,  while  nu- 
merous herds  of  buffalo  are  feeding  on  the  plains 
which  surround  it. 

"Captain  Lewis  then  descended  the  hill.  He 
soon  met  a  herd  of  at  least  a  thousand  buffalo,  and 
being  desirous  of  providing  for  supper,  shot  one  of 
them. 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  75 

"The  animal  immediately  began  to  bleed,  and 
Captain  Lewis,  who  had  forgotten  to  reload  his 
rifle  was  intently  watching  to  see  him  fall,  when  he 
beheld  a  large  brown  bear  stealing  up  to  him,  and 
was  already  within  twenty  steps.  In  the  first  mo- 
ment of  surprise  he  lifted  his  rifle,  but,  remember- 
ing that  it  was  not  charged,  and  that  he  had  no 
time  to  reload,  he  felt  that  there  was  no  safety  but 
in  flight. 

''  It  w^as  in  the  open,  level  plain,  not  a  bush  nor 
a  tree  within  three  hundred  yards;  the  bank  of 
the  river  sloping,  and  not  more  than  three  feet 
high,  so  that  there  was  no  possible  mode  of  conceal- 
ment. 

"  Captain  Lewis  then  thought  of  retreating  with 
a  quick  walk,  towards  the  nearest  tree;  but,  as  soon 
as  he  turned,  the  bear  rushed,  open-mouthed  and 
at  full  speed,  upon  him.  The  captain  ran  about 
eighty  yards,  but  finding  the  animal  gained  on  him 
fast,  decided  on  getting  into  the  water  to  such  a 
depth  that  the  bear  would  be  obliged  to  attack  him 
swimming.  He,  therefore,  turned  short,  plunged 
into  the  river  about  w^aist  deep,  and,  facing  about, 
presented  the  point  of  his  spontoon. 

''The  bear  arrived  at  the  water's  edge,  but  became 
frightened,  wheeled  about,  and  retreated  with  as 
much  precipitation  as  he  had  advanced.  Very  glad 
to   be  released  from   this   danger,   Captain   Lewis 


76 


WESTERN    SERIES    OP    READERS. 


returned  to  the  shore,  and  saw  the  bear  running 
with  great  speed,  sometimes  looking  back,  as  if  he 
expected  to  be  pursued,  till  he  reached  the  woods. 

'•'He  could  not  conceive  tlie  cause  of  the  sudden 
alarm  of  the  bear,  but  congratulated  himself  on  his 


Tne  Sierra  in  the  Distance. 

escape,  and  learned  from  the  adventure  never  to 
allow  his  rifle  to  be  for  a  moment  unloaded." 

Far,  far  up  the  Missouri  River,  in  the  heart  of 
the  Rocky  Mountains,  they  had  to  walk  up  the 
rugged  banks,  and  leave  their  last  remaining  little 
boats,  having  buried  the  big  ones  under  heaps  of 
stones  in  the  river,  to  be  used  on  their  return.  They 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  77 

found  the  rattlesnakes  so  numerous  and  vicious 
that  the  men  had  to  bind  their  legs  in  thongs. 

Late  in  August  they  stood  on  the  topmost  reach 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains.  Bear  in  mind,  the  moun- 
tains here  are  now  green  fields  and  harvest-fields. 
Do  not  let  the  idea  prevail  that  the  country  on  the 
top  of  the  Rocky  Mountains  is  rugged.  Strange  to 
say,  these  mountains,  unlike  our  Sierras,  may  be 
crossed  easily,  and  almost  anywhere  that  snow  is 
not  encountered.  Here  is  the  record  of  August  12, 
1805 : 

"They  had  now  reached  the  hidden  source  of  that 
river,  which  had  never  before  been  seen  by  civilized 
man;  and  as  they  quenched  their  tliirst  at  the 
chaste  and  icy  fountain,  as  they  sat  down  by  the 
brink  of  the  little  river,  which  yielded  its  distant 
and  modest  tribute  to  the  parent  ocean,  they  felt 
themselves  rewarded  for  all  their  labors  and  all 
their  difficulties.  They  reluctantly  left  this  inter- 
esting spot,  and,  pursuing  the  Indian  road  through 
the  interval  of  the  hills,  arrived  at  the  top  of  a 
ridge,  from  which  they  saw  high  mountains,  par- 
tially covered  with  snow,  still  to  the  west  of  them. 
The  ridge  on  which  they  stood  formed  the  dividing 
line  between  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific 
Oceans.'' 

After  crossing  the  mountains,  the  party  suffered 
terribly  from  cold,  hunger,  and  heartsickness ;  for 


78  WESTERN    SERIES   OF    READERS. 

the  country  was,  and  still  is,  desolate  indeed  for  a 
long  distance,  made  much  longer  to  them  from 
want  of  guides  and  any  good  idea  how  to  reach 
the  navigable  waters  of  the  Oregon  (now  called 
the  Columbia)  River.  More  than  once  they  had 
only  horse-meat.  Finally,  they  had  to  buy  dogs 
to  eat. 

When  they  got  down  the  head-waters  of  the 
Columbia,  to  what  is  now  the  Nez  Perce  (Pierced 
Nose)  tribe,  of  whom  the  famous  Chief  Joseph  is 
now  leader,  they  fared  very  well;  and,  leaving 
their  horses  with  the  Indians,  they  bought  canoes, 
and  dashed  on  down  the  river  toward  the  great 
Pacific  Ocean.  Here  follows  the  record  of  the  first 
Christmas  ever  held  by  Americans  on  the  shore  of 
the  Pacific  Ocean : 

"  Dec.  25.  We  were  awakened  at  daylight  by  a 
discharge  of  firearms,  which  was  followed  by  a 
song  from  the  men,  as  a  compliment  to  us  on  the 
return  of  Christmas,  which  we  have  always  been 
accustomed  to  observe  as  a  day  of  rejoicing.  After 
breakfast,  we  divided  our  remaining  stock  of  tobacco 
into  two  parts,  one  of  which  we  distributed  among 
such  of  the  party  as  made  use  of  it,  making  a  present 
of  a  handkerchief  to  the  others. 

"The  remainder  of  the  day  was  passed  in  good 
spirits,  though  there  was  nothing  in  our  situation 
to  excite  much  gayety.     The  rain  confined  us  to 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  79 

the  house,  and  our  only  luxuries  in  honor  of  the 
season  were  some  poor  elk-meat  (so  much  spoiled 
that  we  ate  it  through  mere  necessity),  a  few  roots, 
and  some  moldy  pounded  fish." 

The  men  were  starving;  many  of  them  were  very 
ill;  but  still  they  did  not  lose  heart,  but,  as  we  shall 
see,  hailed  the  new  year  with  thanksgiving  and 
gratitude.  Here  is  the  journal's  account  of  the  first 
"  New  Year's  "  ever  celebrated  under  the  American 
flag  on  this  coast : 

"  Jan.  1,  1806.  We  were  awaked  at  an  early 
hour  by  the  discharge  of  a  volley  of  small  arms,  to 
salute  the  new  year.  This  was  the  only  mode  of 
commemorating  the  day  which  our  situation  per- 
mitted; for,  though  we  had  reasons  to  be  gayer 
than  we  were  at  Christmas,  our  only  dainties  were 
boiled  elk  and  wappatoo,  enlivened  by  draughts  of 
pure  water. 

''  We  were  visited  by  a  few  Clatsops,  who  came  by 
water,  bringing  roots  and  berries  for  sale.  Among 
this  nation  we  observed  a  man  about  twenty-five 
years  old,  of  a  much  lighter  complexion  than  the 
Indians  generally.  His  face  was  even  freckled,  and 
his  hair  long  and  of  a  color  inclining  to  red. 

"He  was  in  habits  and  manners  perfectly  Indian; 
but,  though  he  did  not  speak  a  word  of  English,  he 
seemed  to  understand  more  than  the  others  of  his 
party ;  and,  as  we  could  obtain  no  account  of  his 


80  WESTERN   SERIES    OF    READERS. 

origin,  we  concluded  that  one  of   his  parents  at 
least  must  have  been  white." 

Many  explorations  were  made  up  the  many  rivers. 
At  one  place,  where  Oregon  City  now  stands,  they 
found  a  large  Indian  village,  with  not  a  human  being 
in  sight,  all  having  suddenly  died  from  some  plague. 

At  last  their  work  was  done.  Rivers  had  been 
explored,  valleys  were  measured,  mountains  had 
been  climbed  and  classified,  and  given  place  on 
the  maps  of  the  republic.  The  men  had  a  riglit 
to  return.  These  men,  who  had  been  so  long  from 
home,  and  out  of  reach  of  all  signs  of  civilization, 
were  now  "hairy  men."  They  were  clothed  en- 
tirely in  the  skins  of  wild  beasts;  their  beards 
fell  in  matted  masses  on  their  breasts;  their  hair 
blew  about  their  shoulders  in  the  wind.  They 
were  a  wild-looking  lot  as  they  lifted  their  faces 
once  more  to  the  rising  sun,  and  set  out  to  retrace 
their  steps  up  the  Oregon  River,  over  the  Rockies, 
and  down  the  yellow  Missouri. 

All  along  through  the  journal  we  find  such  en- 
tries as  these:  "To-day  bought  three  more  dogs, 
and  dried  their  flesh  by  the  fire  to  take  with  us." 
At  one  place  we  read  of  them  buying  twenty  dogs. 
At  first  they  did  not  kill  them  at  once,  but  took 
them  along  with  them  alive.  The  dogs,  however, 
were  too  much  given  to  getting  out,  so  they  had  to 
"jerk"  them. 


DISCOVERY    OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS.  81 

The  Indians  were,  for  the  most  part,  dirty  and 
thievish.  Their  teeth  were  worn  down  to  the  gums 
from  eating  fish  that  had  been  dried  on  the  sand; 
their  eyes  were  red  and  weak  from  sand-storms; 
and  they  followed  the  white  men  about  like  chil- 


Wind  River  Mountains  — The  Highest  Peak  in  the  Rockies,  where 
Frennont  Placed  the  Flag. 

dren,  begging  for  a  sort  of  eye-water  which  Captain 
Clark  compounded  out  of  sugar  of  lead. 

As  the  party  readied  the  Eocky  Mountains  on 
their  return,  they  divided,  one  going  up  one  branch 
of  the  Columbia  (or  Oregon)  River,  and  the  other 
party  up  the  other  branch,  to  meet  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Yellowstone  River,  about  one  hundred  miles 
from  what  is  now  the  great  Yellowstone  Park. 
Strangely  enough,  they  did  not  see  or  hear  of  the 


82  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

marvels  there;  and  one  can  but  wonder  if  they  are 
not,  comparatively,  of  recent  date. 

I  take  pleasure  in  stating  that  these  great 
explorers  found  no  trouble  with  Indians  on  their 
outward  journey;  but  now,  as  they  returned  and 
neared  the  tribes  that  afterward  destroyed  the  brave 
General  Custer  and  his  men,  they  barely  escaped 
with  their  lives.  Here  is  their  account  of  the  ugly 
affair: 

"  July  27.  The  Indians  got  up  at  sunrise  and 
crowded  around  the  fire,  near  which  J.  Fields,  who 
was  then  on  watch,  had  carelessly  left  his  rifle  by 
the  head  of  his  brother,  who  was  still  asleep. 

''One  of  the  Indians  slipped  behind  him,  and, 
unperceived,  took  his  brother's  and  his  own  rifle, 
while  at  the  same  time  two  others  seized  those  of 
Drewyer  and  Captain  Lewis.  As  soon  as  Fields 
turned  round,  he  saw  the  Indian  running  off  with 
the  rifles,  and,  instantly  calling  his  brother,  they 
pursued  him  for  fifty  yards,  and,  just  as  they  over- 
took him,  in  the  scuffle  R.  Fields  stabbed  him 
through  the  heart  with  his  knife.  He  ran  about 
fifteen  feet  and  fell  dead.  They  now  hastened  back 
with  their  rifles  to  the  camp. 

"As  the  Indian  seized  Drewyer's  rifle,  he  jumped 
up  and  wrested  it  from  him.  The  noise  awoke 
Captain  Lewis,  who  started  from  the  ground  and 
reached  to  seize  his  gun,  but,  finding  it  gone,  he 


DISCOVERY    OP    THE    ROCKY   MOUNTAINS.  83 

drew  a  pistol  from  his  belt,  and,  turning  about,  saw 
an  Indian  running  off  with  it.  Lewis  followed  and 
ordered  him  to  lay  it  down,  which  he  did. 

"Just  then  the  Fields  came  up,  and  were  taking 
aim  to  shoot  him,  but  Captain  Lewis  ordered  them 
not  to  fire,  as  the  Indian  did  not  appear  to  mean 
any  mischief.  On  finding  that  the  Indians  were 
attempting  to  drive  off  the  horses,  Lewis  ordered 
the  men  to  follow  the  main  party,  who  were  chasing 
the  horses  up  the  river,  and  to  fire  instantly  upon 
the  thieves,  while  he  pursued  two  Indians  who  were 
driving  away  horses  on  the  left  of  the  camp. 

*'  He  pressed  them  so  closely  that  they  left  twelve 
of  their  own  horses,  but  continued  to  drive  off  one 
of  ours.  They  entered  a  steep  niche  in  the  river 
bluffs,  when  Captain  Lewis  called  out,  as  he  had 
done  several  times  before,  that  unless  they  gave 
up  the  horse  he  would  shoot  them. 

"As  he  raised  his  gun  one  of  the  Indians  jumped 
behind  a  rock,  but  the  other  was  shot.  He  fell 
on  his  knees,  but  raising  himself  a  little,  fired  at 
Lewis,  and  then  crawled  behind  a  rock.  The  shot 
very  nearly  proved  fatal  to  Captain  Lewis,  and,  as 
he  was  almost  exhausted  with  fatigue,  thought  it 
most  prudent  not  to  attack  them  further,  and  retired 
to  the  camp. 

"The  Fields  and  Drewyer  had  returned  to  camp 
and  all  were  soon  ready  to  leave.     They  knew  there 


84  WESTERN   SERIES    OF    READERS. 

was  no  time  to  be  lost ;  for  they  would  doubj^less  be 
pursued  by  a  larger  body  of  Indians,  who  would 
hasten  to  the  mouth  of  Maria's  Eiver  to  intercept 
them." 

The  record  of  the  last  two  days  in  this  most 
remarkable  journal  of  the  most  notable  expedition 
that  has  ever  been,  perhaps,  is  as  follows: 

^^ September  22.  When  the  rain  having  ceased, 
we  set  out  for  Coldwater  Creek,  about  three  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Missouri,  where  we  found  a 
cantonment  of  the  United  States  troops,  with  whom 
we  passed  the  day. 

^^ September  23.  Descended  the  Mississippi  and 
round  to  St.  Louis,  at  which  place  we  arrived  at 
12  o'clock,  and,  having  fired  a  salute,  went  on  shore, 
where  we  received  a  most  hearty  and  hospitable 
welcome  from  the  whole  village." 

Captain  William  Clark  was  a  Virginian,  born  in 
1770.  Pie  was,  after  this  expedition,  promoted  to 
brigadier-general,  and  two  years  later  was  made 
governor  of  Missouri.  He  died  at  St.  Louis  in  1838, 
universally  lamented  and  beloved  for  his  brave, 
gentle,  and  generous  disposition,  and  his  devotion 
to  his  great  country. 

His  companion  in  this  bold  expedition,  Captain 
Meriwether  Lewis,  was  also  a  Virginian,  born  in 
1774.  He  was  private  secretary  to  President  Jeffer- 
son la  1801,  and  the. President  trusted  him  entirely 


DISCOVERY   OF    THE    ROCKY    MOUNTAINS. 


85 


in  the  great  work  on  which  he  was  sent.  Jefferson 
wrote  a  memoir  of  the  explorer  and  extolled  his 
merit. 

He  was  the  first  governor  of  Missouri  after  the 
return.  But  his  mind  had  been  greatly  broken 
from  long  exposure,  and  being  subject  to  tempor- 
ary fits  of  insanity,  committed  suicide  two  years 
later. 

BLACKBOARD  WORDS. 

Interpreter  (Tn-t6r'pret-er),  Missouri  (mis-soo'ree),  Liou- 
isiaiia  (loo-ee-ze-ah'na),  Wapatoo  (vvap-a-too),  Sioux  (soo), 
equipped  (e-kwipf),  official  (6f-fish'al). 


OTHOTT,  my  best  beloved !  my  pride,  my  boast ; 
Stretching  thy  glorious  length  along  the  West, 
Within  the  girdle  of  tlij^  sun-lit  coast, 

From  pine  to  palm,  from  palm  to  snowy  crest. 

—  Charles  Warren  Stoddard. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  DONNER  PARTY. 


THE  covered  wagons  were  packed  with  food,  goods, 
and  articles  useful  in  the  life  of  the  early 
pioneer.  The  oxen  were  yoked,  and  stood  lazily 
waiting  the  driver's  order.  The  children  had  said 
good-by,  and,  as  they  climbed  up  on  the  wagons, 
shouted,  "  Ho !  for  California !  '* 

Then  the  heavy  wagons  started,  and  the  Donner 
party  began  the  long,  perilous  journey  toward  the 
Pacific.  It  was  early  in  April,  1846,  that  George 
and  Jacob  Donner  and  James  F.  Reed  formed  the 
train  which  was  to  cross  the  plains.  The  journey 
began  with  bright  hopes.  It 
was  known  that  the  roads 
were  difficult;  that  Indians 
might  attack  them;  that 
great  deserts  w^ould  have  to 
be  crossed,  and  roads  would 
have  to  be  found  over  rough 
mountains. 

These  were  the  days  of 
brave  men  and  women.  Fa- 
thers and  mothers  were  full 


Reference  Topics, 

An  Emigrant  Train. 
The  Desert. 
The  Sierra. 
I>onner  Lake, 
Sutter's  Fort. 
The  Suflferings  of  the 

Donner  Party. 
The  Relief  Parties,^ 
The  Tourist  Cars  vs. 

Emigrant  Trains. 
The  Pioneers. 


THE    STORY   OF   TPIE   DONNER   PARTY.  87 

of  courage;  lovers  were  full  of  hope;  children  were 
full  of  glee.  The  bleaching  bones  of  cattle,  and 
here  and  there  a  rude  cross  over  a  newly  made 
mound,  along  the  emigrant  road,  did  not  change 
either  their  courage,  hope,  or  joy. 

Fair,  young  California  was  before  these  people, — 
its  rich  valleys,  its  pine-clad  Sierra,  its  rivers  and 
matchless  sea. 

After  the  Donner  party  left  Independence,  Mis- 
souri, it  was  joined  by  others,  until  it  contained 
between  two  and  three  hundred  wagons,  and  was, 
when  in  motion,  two  miles  in  length.  The  great 
train  succeeded  in  reaching  Fort  Bridger,  a  trading- 
post,  without  mu.ch  trouble. 

On  one  occasion,  Mary  Graves,  a  beautiful  young 
lady,  was  riding  on  horseback  with  her  brother. 
They  were  in  the  rear  of  the  train.  A  band  of 
Sioux  Indians  fell  in  love  with  the  maiden,  and 
offered  to  purchase  her;  but  the  brother  was  not 
willing  to  sell. 

One  of  the  Indians  seized  the  bridle  of  the  girl's 
horse,  and  attempted  to  capture  her.  The  brother 
leveled  his  rifle  at  the  savage,  and  he  promptly  gave 
a  war-whoop  and  rode  away. 

At  another  place  a  division  arose  among  the 
emigrants;  some  wanted  to  rest  the  stock  and  hunt 
buff'aloes,  and  secure  a  larger  supply  of  jerked  meat. 
Others  wanted  to  go  on,  for  fear  the  grass  would 


88  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

be  eaten  off  by  the  stock  of  other  trains.  It  was 
decided  to  go  forward. 

At  Fort  Bridger,  the  Donner  party  chose  a  new 
route,  called  the  "  Hastings  Cut-off."  Those  who 
went  by  the  old  route  reached  California  in 
safety. 

The  trials  of  the  Donner  party  now  began  in 
earnest.  Instead  of  reaching  Salt  Lake  in  one  week, 
it  was  over  thirty  days,  and  the  stock  and  men  were 
exhausted.  The  beautiful  Salt  Lake  Valley,  how- 
ever, filled  them  with  joy,  and  all  hoped  for  a  peace- 
ful, prosperous  journey  to  California. 

In  crossing  the  Great  Salt  Lake  Desert  severe 
hardships  were  endured.  The  suffering  of  the  stock 
for  water  was  great. 

Some  teamsters  unhitched  the  oxen  from  Jacob 
Reed's  wagons  and  drove  them  ahead  for  water. 
The  desert  mirage  deceived  the  oxen,  and  even  the 
men,  and  the  cattle  rushed  off  into  the  pathless 
desert  and  never  returned  —  the  desert  — 

*'  God  mnst  have  made  it  ia  his  anger  and  forgot," 

The  men  went  tramping  through  the  sand  and  over 
the  sagebrush,  calling  "Co,  Boss!  Co-o-o,  Bo-bo- 
boss! —  Soo-ok,  Jer-ry  —  Soo-ook,  sook,  Jerry!" 

No  answer  came.  The  loneliness  of  the  desert 
was  increased  as  the  sound  of  their  voices  died 
away  in  the  vast   solitude.     Reed  was  forced   to 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  DONNER  PARTY.      89 

cache^  the  goods  in  his  wagons  and  proceed  with 
an  ox  and  a  cow. 

While  the  party  was  camped  on  the  edge  of  the 
desert,  it  was  made  known  that  the  provisions  would 
not  last  until  California  was  reached. 

It  was  decided  to  send  two  men  ahead  to  secure 
provisions  and  return.  C.  T.  Stanton  and  William 
McCutcheon  decided  to  go.  A  tearful  farewell  was 
taken,  and  the  two  brave  men  rode  out  on  the  dim 
trail  for  California.  They  carried  letters  to  Captain 
Sutter,  of  Sutter's  Fort. 

At  Gravelly  Ford,  on  the  Humboldt  River,  a 
tragedy  occurred.  In  trying  to  ascend  a  hill  where 
it  was  required  to  hitch  five  or  six  yoke  of  oxen  to 
a  wagon,  Reed  and  a  popular  young  man,  by  the 
name  of  John  Snyder,  became  engaged  in  a  fierce 
quarrel. 

C.  F.  McGlashan  f  gives  this  account  of  the  aff'ray : 

"  When  Reed  saw  that  trouble  was  likely  to  occur, 
he  said  something  about  waiting  until  they  got  up 
the  hill,  and  settle  the  matter  afterwards.  Snyder, 
who  took  this  as  a  threat,  replied,  'We  will  settle 
it  now.'  He  struck  Reed  a  blow  on  the  head  with 
the  butt-end  of  his  heavy  whipstock.  The  blow 
was  followed  in  rapid  succession  by  a  second  and 
a  third. 


*  A  term  used  by  the  pioneers  when  they  bnried  anything  of  Aalue. 
t  History  of  the  Donner  Party. 


90  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

''As  the  third  stroke  descended,  Mrs.  Reed  ran 
between  her  husband  and  the  furious  man,  hoping 
to  prevent  the  blow.  Each  time  the  whipstock 
descended  on  Reed's  head  it  cut  deep  gashes.  He 
was  blinded  with  the  blood  which  streamed  from 
liis  wounds,  and  dazed  and  stunned  by  the  terrific 
force  of  the  blows.  He  saw  the  cruel  whipstock 
uplifted,  and  knew  that  his  wife  was  in  danger,  but 
only  had  time  to  cry  'John!  John!'  when  down 
came  the  stroke  full  upon  Mrs.  Reed's  head  and 
shoulders.  The  next  instant  John  Snyder  was 
staggering  speechless  and  death-stricken. 

"Patrick  Breen  came  up,  and  Snyder  said :  '  Uncle, 
I  am  dead.'  Reed's  knife  had  entered  his  lung. 
Snyder's  death  fell  like  a  thunderbolt  on  the  Donner 
party." 

Reed  was  banished  from  the  train.  At  first  he 
refused  to  go;  but  the  feeling  against  him  was  so 
strong  that  he  yielded  to  the  pleadings  of  his  wife 
and  daughter.  He  was  to  go  without  provisions, 
or  even  a  gun;  but  his  twelve-year-old  daughter, 
Virginia,  supplied  them. 

As  the  train  moved  forward,  Mrs.  Reed  and  Vir- 
ginia would  look  at  every  little  camping-place  for 
a  message  from  him.  He  rode  toward  California, 
and  when  he  succeeded  in  killing  geese  or  ducks 
he  would  spread  the  feathers  about  in  such  a  way 
that  it  would  be  a  message  to  his  family,  and  some- 


THE   STORY   OF    THE    DONNER    PARTY.  \)\ 

times  would  leave  letters  pinned  to  the  sage- 
brush. 

A  day  came,  however,  when  they  found  no  mes- 
sage, no  letter,  or  trace  of  the  father.  Was  he  dead? 
Had  he  starved?  Had  the  Indians  killed  him? 
Mrs.  Keed  grew  pale  and  worried.  Then,  she  knew 
that  if  she  died  her  children  might  perish.  With 
a  brave  heart  she  roused  herself,  and  with  noble 
devotion  cared  for  her  children.* 

Near  the  present  town  of  Wadsworth,  Nevada, 
Stanton,  who  had  been  sent  on  ahead,  returned  from 
Sutter's  Fort  with  provisions.  He  brought  seven 
mules,  five  of  which  were  loaded  with  dried  beef  and 
flour.  If  Stanton  had  not  brought  these  provisions, 
the  whole  company  would  surely  have  perished. 

It  was  now  late  in  October.  If  the  party  had 
pushed  right  on,  the  Sierra  could  have  been  crossed 
before  the  storm  season.  Another  relief  party  was 
sent  forward.  C.  F.  McGlashan  thus  describes  the 
approach  to  the  Sierra : 

"  Generally,  the  ascent  of  the  Sierra  brought  joy 
and  gladness  to  weary  overland  emigrants.  To  the 
Donner  party  it  brought  terror  and  dismay. 

"The  company  had  hardly  obtained  a  glimpse  of 
the  mountains,  ere  the  winter  storm-clouds  began 

*Mr.  Reed  reached  California,  and  returned  to  Donner  Lake  to  rescue 
his  family  and  aid  the  others.  He  lived  at  San  Jose  many  years,  a 
respected  and  useful  citizen. 


02 


WESTERN   SERIES    OF   READERS. 


to  assemble  their  hosts  around  the  loftier  crests. 
Every  day  the  weather  appeared  more  ominous  and 
threatening.  The  delay  at  the  Truckee  Meadows 
had  been  brief,  but  every  day  ultimately  cost  a 
dozen  lives. 

"  On  the  2od  of  October,  they  became  thoroughly 
alarmed    at   the   angry   heralds  of  the   gathering 


Donner  Lake  in  Winter. 


storm,  and  with  all  haste  resumed  the  journe3^     It 
was  too  late ! 

*'At  Prosser  Creek,  three  miles  below  Truckee, 
they  found  themselves  encompassed  with  six  inches 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  DONNER  PARTY.      93 

of  snow.  On  the  summits  the  snow  was  from  two 
to  five  feet  in  depth.  This  was  October  28,  1846. 
Ahnost  a  month  earlier  than  usual,  the  Sierra  had 
donned  its  mantle  of  ice  and  snow. 

"  The  party  were  prisoners.  All  was  consterna- 
tion. The  wildest  confusion  prevailed.  In  their 
eagerness,  many  went  off  in  advance  of  the  main 
train.  There  was  little  concert  of  action  or  har- 
mony of  plan.  All  did  not  arrive  at  Donner  Lake 
the  same  day.  Some  wagons  and  families  did 
not  reach  the  lake  until  the  31st  day  of  October; 
some  never  went  farther  than  Prosser  Creek,  while 
others,  on  the  evening  of  the  29th,  struggled  through 
the  snow,  and  reached  the  foot  of  the  precipitous 
cliffs  between  the  summit  and  the  upper  end  of  the 
lake.  Here,  baffled,  wearied,  and  disheartened,  they 
turned  back  to  the  foot  of  the  lake." 

Several  attempts  were  made  to  cross  the  moun- 
tain, but  without  success.  Realizing  that  the  winter 
must  be  passed  in  the  mountains,  arrangements 
were  made  for  food,  by  killing  the  cattle  and  build- 
ing shelters.  The  following  is  a  description  of  the 
Breen  cabin : 

It  was  built  of  pine  saplings,  and  roofed  with 
pine  brush  and  rawhides.  It  was  twelve  by  four- 
teen feet,  and  seven  or  eight  feet  high,  with  a  chim- 
ney in  one  end,  built  "  Western  style."  One 
opening,  through  which  light,  air,  and  the  occu- 


94  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

pants  passed,  served  as  a  window  and  door.  Two 
days  were  spent  in  its  construction. 

Patrick  Dolan,  a  brave,  generous  Irishman,  gave 
all  of  his  food  to  the  Reed  famih%  and  started  with 
C.  T.  Stanton  and  thirteen  others  to  cross  the 
Sierra  on  foot. 

Before  they  left,  one  man  had  already  died  of 
starvation.  Matters  were  desperate.  The  party 
only  dared  take  six  days'  rations.  The  first  day 
the  party  traveled  four  miles,  the  next,  six. 

They  crossed  the  summit.  The  camp  of  the 
party  was  no  longer  visible.  They  were  alone 
among  the  high  snow -peak  battlements  of  the 
Sierra.  The  situation  was  terrible.  The  great 
snowshoes  exhausted  them.  The  heroic  Stanton, 
became  so  blind  that  it  was  difficult  for  him  to  pro- 
ceed. The  agony  of  blindness  wrung  no  cry  from 
his  lips.  He  could  no  longer  keep  up  with  the 
rest  of  the  company. 

One  evening  he  staggered  into  camp,  long  after 
the  others  had  finished  their  pitiful  supper.  He 
said  little.  In  the  silence  of  his  heart  he  knew  he 
had  reached  the  end  of  his  journey. 

In  the  morning  some  one  said  to  him,  kindly, 
"Are  you  coming?" 

"Yes;  I  am  coming  soon."  These  were  liis  last 
words.  He  died  alone,  amid  the  snow  of  the  High 
Sierra. 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  DONNER  PARTY.      95 

A  terrible  storm  arose.  The  people  were  without 
food.  Unless  their  hunger  was  allayed,  all  would 
die.  Some  one  proposed  to  prolong  their  lives  b}^ 
eating  human  flesh.  It  was  decided  to  draw  slips, 
and  the  one  who  got  the  longest  was  to  die.  Patrick 
Dolan  got  the  fatal  slip.  No  one  would  take  Dolan's 
life.  It  was  not  necessary;  for  hunger  had  done  its 
terrible  work. 

Several  of  the  party,  including  Dolan,  died,  and 
the  others  lived  on  the  flesh  of  the  dead  until  they 
came  to  an  Indian  ranch eria.  The  savages  were 
amazed.  It  is  said  that  the  Indian  women  cried 
with  grief  at  the  pitiful  spectacle  of  the  starved 
men  and  women. 

They  were  given  bread  made  from  acorns,  and 
the  Indians  were  very  kind  to  them.  But  the  acorn 
bread  did  not  strengthen  them.  They  were  now  in 
full  view  of  the  Sacramento  Valley,  in  all  its  beauty 
and  loveliness,  and  yet  were  dying ! 

At  last  one,  stronger  than  the  others,  went  on 
ahead  to  Johnson's  Ranch,  and  sent  back  food  to 
the  others.  Of  the  fifteen  who  had  started  from 
Donner  Lake,  only  seven  lived  to  reach  Johnson's 
Ranch. 

Word  reached  Sutter's  Fort  that  men,  women,  and 
children  were  starving  at  Donner  Lake,  and  Captain 
Sutter  sent  a  relief  party  at  once. 

The  people  who  camped  at  the  lake  sufl'ered  the 


96  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

pangs  of  hunger.  One  of  the  survivors,  writing, 
said  :  "  The  families  shared  with  one  another  as 
long  as  they  had  an3''thing  to  share.  Each  one's 
portion  was  very  small.  The  hides  were  boiled, 
and  the  bones  were  browned  and  eaten.  We  tried 
to  eat  a  decayed  buffalo  robe,  but  it  was  too  tough 
and  there  was  no  nourishment  in  it.  Some  of  the 
few  mice  that  came  into  camp  were  caught  and  eaten. 
V^^'Some  days  we  could  not  keep  a  fire,  and  many 
times,  during  both  days  and  nights,  snow  was 
shoveled  from  off  our  tent  and  from  around  it,  that 
we  might  not  be  buried  alive.  Mother  remarked 
one  day  that  it  had  been  two  weeks  that  our  beds 
and  the  clothing  upon  our  bodies  had  been  wet. 

"  Two  of  my  sisters  and  myself  spent  some  days 
at  Keseberg's  cabin.  The  first  morning  we  were 
there  they  shoveled  the  snow  from  our  bed  before 
we  could  get  up. 

"  Very  few  can  believe  it  possible  for  human 
beings  to  live  and  suffer  the  exposure  and  hard- 
ships endured  there." 

Quoting  again  from  Mr.  McGlashan,  this  touching 
account  of  Christmas  on  Donner  Lake  is  given: 

"  What  a  desolate  Christmas  morning  that  was 
for  the  snowbound  victims!  All  were  starving. 
Something  to  eat,  something  to  satisfy  the  terrible 
cravings  of  appetite,  was  the  constant  wish  of  all. 
Sometimes  the  wishes  were  expressed  aloud,  but 


THE   STORY   OF   THE   DONNER   PARTY.  97 

more  frequently  a  gloomy  silence  prevailed.  When 
anything  was  audibly  wished  for,  it  was  invariably 
something  whose  size  was  proportional  to  their 
hunger.  They  never  wished  for  a  meal  or  a  mouth- 
ful, but  for  a  barrelful,  a  wagon-load,  a  houseful,  or 
a  storehouseful. 

''On  Christmas  eve  the  children  spoke  in  low 
subdued  tones  of  the  visits  Santa  Glaus  used  to 
make  them  in  their  beautiful  homes  before  they 
started  across  the  plains.  Now  they  knew  that  no 
Santa  Claus  would  find  them  in  the  pathless  depths 
of  snow. 

"  One  family,  the  Reeds,  were  in  a  peculiarly  dis- 
tressing situation.  They  knew  not  whether  their 
father  was  living  or  dead.  No  tidings  had  reached 
them  since  his  letters  ceased  to  be  found  by  the 
wayside.  The  meat  they  had  obtained  from  the 
Breen  and  Graves  families  was  now  gone,  and  on 
Christmas  morning  their  breakfast  was  a  'pot  of 
glue,'  as  the  boiled  rawhide  was  termed. 

"But  Mrs.  Reed,  the  dear,  tender-hearted  mother, 
had  a  surprise  in  store  for  her  children  this  day. 

"When  the  last  ox  had  been  purchased,  Mrs.  Reed 
had  placed  the  frozen  meat  in  one  corner  of  the 
cabin,  so  that  pieces  could  be  chipped  off  with  a 
knife  or  hatchet.  The  tripe,  however,  she  cleaned 
carefully,  and  hung  on  the  outside  of  the  cabin,  on 
the  end  of  a  log,  close  to  the  ground. 


98  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

*'  She  knew  that  the  snow  would  soon  conceal  this 
from  view.  She  also  laid  away  secretly  one  tea- 
cupful  of  white  beans,  about  half  that  quantity  of 
rice,  the  same  measure  of  dried  apples,  and  a  piece 
of  bacon  two  inches  square. 

"She  knew  that  if  Christmas  found  them  alive, 
they  would  be  in  a  terribly  destitute  condition. 
She  therefore  resolved  to  lay  these  articles  away, 
and  to  give  them  to  her  starving  children  for  a 
Christmas  dinner. 

"This  was  done.  The  joy  and  gladness  of  these 
four  little  children  knew  no  bounds  when  they  saw 
the  treasures  unearthed  and  cooking  on  the  fire. 
They  were,  just  this  one  meal,  to  have  all  they  could 
eat! 

"  They  laughed,  and  danced,  and  cried  by  turns. 
They  eagerly  watched  the  dinner  as  it  boiled.  The 
pork  and  tripe  had  been  cut  in  dice-like  pieces. 
Occasionally  one  of  these  pieces  would  boil  up  to  the 
surface  of  the  water  for  an  instant;  then  a  bean 
would  take  a  peep  at  them  from  the  boiling  kettle; 
then  a  piece  of  apple  or  a  grain  of  rice.  The  ap- 
pearance of  each  tiny  bit  was  hailed  by  the  children 
with  shouts  of  glee. 

"The  mother,  whose  eyes  were  brimming  with 
tears,  watched  her  famished  darlings  with  emotions 
that  can  only  be  imagined.  It  seemed  too  sad  that 
innocent  children  should  be  brought  to  such  desti- 


THE  STORY  OF  THE  DONNER  PARTY.      99 

tutioii  —  that  the  very  sight  of  food  should  so  affect 
them. 

"When  the  dinner  was  prepared,  the  mother's 
constant  injunction  was, '  Children,  eat  slowly ;  there 
is  plenty  for  all.'  When  they  thought  of  the  starva- 
tion of  to-morrow,  they  could  not  repress  a  shade 
of  sadness,  and  when  the  name  of  papa  was  men- 
tioned all  burst  into  tears. 

''Dear, brave  papa!  Was  he  struggling  to  relieve 
his  starving  family,  or  lying  stark  and  dead  'neatli 
the  snows  of  the  Sierra?  This  question  was  con- 
stantly uppermost  in  the  mother's  mind." 

Four  different  relief  expeditions  went  to  the 
rescue  of  the  Donner  party.  Of  the  ninety  wdio 
comprised  the  party,  forty-two  perished.  Those 
who  survived  became  prominent  in  the  history  of 
California.  The  names  of  Donner,  Breen,  Murphy, 
Foster,  Graves,  Reed,  Eddy,  McCutcheon,  and  others 
of  the  party,  are  well  known. 

Donner  Lake,  calm  and  peaceful  among  the  sigh- 
ing pines,  is  often  the  scene  of  some  tourist's  camp. 
Frequently  a  relic  of  the  days  of  '46  and  '47  is 
found,  and  it  tells  a  mute  story  of  death  and  star- 
vation. 

The  travelers  in  palace  cars  pass  over  the  Sierra, 
near  Donner  Lake,  unmindful  of  the  struggles  of  the 
pioneers;  that  the  white  peaks  of  snow  on  which 
rest  the  golden  afterglow  of  the  sun,  were  not  the 


100  WESTERN    SERIES    OF   READERS. 

holy  spires  of  God's  eternal  cathedrals,  but  the  cold 
menace  of  death! 

The  pioneers  have  fought  their  last  battle  with 
the  elements.  The  names  of  those  who  have  won 
wealth  and  fame  are  recorded  in  history.  Let  the 
names  of  the  others  be  engraved  with  loving  sen- 
timent in  the  hearts  of  the  young.  The  unnamed 
graves  are  sometimes  typical  of  the  bravest  strug- 
gles, the  loftiest  manhood,  and  noblest  sentiment. 
The  race  of  pioneers  is  passing  away.  Let  us  cher- 
ish their  deeds  and  their  strength.  It  will  soon 
be  written  — 

"The  Last  Pioneer." 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Sierra  (se-er'ra),  route  (root,  or  rout),  Sutter  (sut'er),  ran- 
cheria  (ran'che-re'ji),  survivors  (sur-vTv'ers),  provisions 
provizh'uns),  exhausted  (6gz-iist-6d),  destitute  (des'ti-tut), 
injunction  (Tn-jank'shun),  baffled  (baf  f  Id). 


wa^<-^-M.  .Ill*  >»--> 


1 


S.-R,. 


THE   BEAR-FLAG   REPUBLIC* 


T  sunrise  on  June  11,  1846,  thirteen  men 
left  Fremont's  camp  at  the  Buttes  near 
the  mouth  of  the  Feather  River. 
They  were  armed  with  rifles  and 
pistols.  They  crossed  the  Sacra- 
mento River  and  made  their  way 
to  Gordon's  Ranch  on  Cache 
Creek. 

Gordon  gave  the  men  a  bullock, 
which  they  killed  and  roasted  over 
a  big  fire.  The  men  had  a  fine 
supper.  They  traveled  all  night.  The  next  da}^ 
nineteen  men  joined 
them.  They  rode  down 
into  the  Sonoma  Val- 
ley one  dark  night  and 
surrounded  the  Califor- 
nian  settlement,  and 
captured  the  people. 

At  this  time  the  Mex- 
icans were  called  the 
Californians, 


and    the 

101 


Reference  Topics. 

The  Buttes. 

General  Vallejo. 

Fremont. 

Kit  Carson. 

Castro. 

The  Bear  Flag. 

Captain  Stoneman. 

Lieutenant  Derby. 

Sonoma. 


102 


WESi'ERN  SERIES    OF    READERS. 


Eastern  people  who  had  settled  in  this  land  were 
called  Americans. 

Sonoma  is  a  small  town,  but  it  has  played  an  im- 
portant part  in  the  history  of  California.     On  June 


Cache  Creek. 

14, 1846,  there  was  a  mission,  a  few  adobe  houses, 
barracks,  plaza,  residence  of  General  Vallejo,  the 
house  of  Jacob  Leese,  which  was  used  in  after  years 
as  the  headquarters  of  Colonel  Joe  Hooker,  Major 
Phil  Kearny,  Captain  Stoneman,  Lieutenant  Derby, 
and  others  known  to  fame. 

At  daybreak  on  June  14th,  thirty-two  men  sur- 


THE  BEAR-FLAG  REPUBLIC.  103 

rounded  Vallejo's  house.  He  was  roused  from  his 
bed  and  taken  prisoner.  He  said:  "I  surrender, 
because  I  am  without  a  force  to  defend  me.  I  ask 
time  to  dress." 

When  he  was  told  that  no  harm  was  intended, 
wine  was  given  to  the  men.  The  men  who  went  in 
to  capture  Vallejo  stayed  so  long  that  those  on  the 
outside  sent  a  man  named  Ide  to  ascertain  the 
cause  of  delay.  He  found  that  they  were  having  a 
merry  time.     Ide  came  out  and  reported. 

Then  a  demand  was  made  that  the  prisoners  be 
taken  to  Fremont's  camp  in  the  Sacramento  Valley. 
Grigsby,  one  of  the  men,  asked  :  "  What  are  the 
orders  of  Fremont?"  No  one  could  answer.  It 
seemed  that  no  orders  existed.  A  scene  of  wild 
confusion  ensued.  One  swore  he  would  not  remain ; 
another  said,  "  We'll  all  have  our  throats  cut." 

There  was  a  move  to  quit  the  scheme,  when  Ide 
stepped  up  and  said :  "  The  Americans  have  not 
been  treated  right.  The  Californians  have  told  us 
to  leave  or  die.  We  must  protect  ourselves.  I  will 
not  run,  like  a  coward.  If  we  do  not  succeed,  we  '11 
be  nothing  but  robbers  or  horsethieves.  We  must 
succeed." 

The  speech  made  the  men  rally  around  Ide,  who 
was  chosen  the  leader.  "  Now,  take  the  fort !  "  he 
said.  It  was  taken  without  a  gun  being  fired,  and 
the  post  at  Sonoma  was  captured,  with  eighteen 


104 


WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 


prisoners,  nine  brass  cannons,  two  hundred  and  fifty 
gUQs,  and  a  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  property. 

Vallejo  and  three  other  prisoners  were  sent  to 
Fremont's  camp.     The  first  thing  they  needed  was 


^«^' 


General  Vallej'o. 


a  flag.     It  did  not  take  long  to  produce  one.      A 
l^iece  of  coarse  white  cloth,  about  two  yards  long 


THE    BEAR-FLAG    REPUBLIC.  105 

and  one  yard  wide,  was  used.  A  narrow  strip  of 
red  woolen  stuff  from  an  old  flannel  shirt  was  sewed 
around  its  edges. 

"  There  ought  to  be  a  bear  on  the  flag,"  said  one 
of  the  men ;  and  John  Todd  drew  a  large  single 
star  and  a  queer-shaped  animal,  which  he  called  a 
grizzly  bear.     Bjplow  the  figures  were  the  words 

"  California  Republic." 

The  flag  was  then  run  up  on  the  pole  where  be- 
fore had  floated  the  Mexican  colors.  Rules  of  order 
and  discipline  were  adopted.  Ide  again  made  a 
speech  to  the  Californians,  in  which  he  said:  ''  We 
do  not  intend  to  rob  you  or  deprive  you  of  liberty- 
We  want  equal  justice  to  all  men."  It  was  the 
purpose  of  the  republic  to  overthrow  tyranny  and 
work  for  the  rights  of  all. 

The  first  night,  it  was  decided  to  issue  a  declara- 
tion of  freedom.  Ide  had  taught  a  village  school 
in  Ohio,  and  knew  something  of  text-books  and 
politics.  In  the  silent  hours  of  the  night,  from  one 
o'clock  until  four,  he  wrote  the  new  declaration.  It 
was  written  in  the  glow  of  enthusiasm. 

The  new  republic  was  to  have  civil  and  religious 
liberty.  It  would  foster  industry,  virtue,  literature, 
commerce,  farming,  and  manufacture.  It  asked  the 
favor  of  Heaven  and  the  help  and  wisdom  and  good 
sense  of  the  people  of  California. 


106 


WESTERN    SERIES   OF    READERS. 


Connected  with  the  Republic  were  two  terrible 
incidents.  Two  Americans,  named  Cowie  and 
Fowler,  were  lassoed,  dragged,  tied  to  trees,  and  cut 


^--^"S-^'^ 


^     ^   s^     -^ 

ft  [fprr 


The  Old   Fort  at  Sonoma. 


to  pieces  by  their  captors,  the  Californians.     This 
took  place  near  the  present  town  of  Healdsburg. 

The  other  event  was  the  shooting  of  three  Cali- 
fornians, who  were  captured  by  Ford.  Papers  were 
found  in  their   boots  which   were  to  mislead  the 


I^HE    BEAR-FLAG    REPUBLIC.  107 

Americans.  The  men  were  shot,  though  they  threw 
away  their  guns  and  begged  for  life. 

Kit  Carson,  who  has  figured  in  the  song  and 
story  of  the  West,  was  with  the  Americans  when 
this  occurred. 

There  was  now  war  in  the  air.  Castro,  a  leader 
of  the  Mexicans,  with  an  armed  force,  was  on  his 
way  to  recapture  Sonoma;  and  it  was  said  that 
he  would  put  to  death  every  man,  woman,  and 
child,  except  Ide,  who  was  to  be  tortured  like  a 
beast. 

One  night  the  little  band  of  Americans  expected 
an  attack.  There  was  the  tramp  of  horses.  It  was 
four  o'clock  —  the  darkest  hour — just  before  the 
dawn.  Every  man  was  at  his  post.  The  cannons 
were  ready.  The  signal  was  that  when  Ide  dropped 
his  gun,  the  men  were  to  fire. 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  tramp  of  soldiers. 
Ide,  with  a  new  light  in  his  eye,  was  about  to  drop 
his  gun.  The  same  moment  Kit  Carson's  voice 
rang  out, ''  My  God,  they  are  going  to  fire ! "  Then 
the  shout,  "'Tis  Fremont  I  'tis  Fremont!"  broke 
out  in  the  fort,  and  Fremont  came  wildly  dash- 
ing up. 

Two  days  after  his  arrival  the  American  flag  was 
raised  at  Monterey,  and  when  the  news  reached 
Sonoma,  the  Bear  flag  was  hauled  down  and  the 
Stars  and  Stripes  run  up. 


108 


WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 


The  Bear-flag  revolution  was  at  an  end.  Its  flag 
is  now  in  the  Pioneer  Hall,  in  San  Francisco,  where 
it  tells  its  mute  story  of  early  days. 


BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 
Caclie   (k^sh),    lieutenant   (lu-ten'ant),    scheme   (skem) 
literature  (llt'er-a-ture),  Vallejo  (viil-ya'ho),  tyranny  (tlr'au- 
nl),  Kearny  (kiir'nl). 


i^r- 


THE  AMERICAN  FLAG   IN  CALIFORNIA. 


THE  story  about  raising  th^  flag  at  the  Golden 
Gate  can  be  told  in  a  few  words.  Away  down 
the  coast  at  Mazatlan  was  a  war-ship,  commanded 
by  Jolin  D.  Sloat.  The  sailors  heard  about  the 
Mexicans  fighting  General  Taylor  over  on  the  Kio 
Grande.  They  wanted  to  do  some  fighting  them- 
selves. 

In  June,  1845,  Sloat  received  from  George  Ban- 
croft, Secretary  of  the  Navy,  a  secret  letter.  The 
orders  were  to  blockade  the  Mexican  ports,  but  first 
to  sail  through  the  Golden  Gate  and  take  possession 
of  the  port  of  San  Francisco.  He  was  told  to  treat 
all  the  people  of  California  in  the  most  friendly 
manner  possible. 

On  May  13, 1846,  Bancroft 
wrote  that  Congress  had  de- 
clared war  against  Mexico, 
and  ordered  Sloat  to  take 
possession  at  once  of  San 
Francisco,  Monterey,  and  as 
many  other  Mexican  ports  as 
he  could,    ^ut  of  San  Fran- 

109 


Reference  Topics. 

The  American  Flag. 

Commodore  Sloat. 

George  Bancroft, 
Historian,  and  Sec- 
retary of  the  Navy. 

July  6,  1846. 

Sloat's  Instruction  to 
His  Men. 

The  Presidio. 


110 


WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 


Cisco  he  said:    "Take  it  without  fail."     His  ship 
sailed  into  the  Bay  of  ^lonterey  on  the  second  of 


The  Flag  Guarding  the  Gclden  Gate, 


July.     He  soon  learned  about  the  Bear-flag  revo- 
lution.    There  were  two  English  war-^iips  in  the 


THE    AMERICAN   FLAG   IN    CALIFORNIA. 


Ill 


bay.  He  was  afraid  of  them.  It  was  several  days 
before  he  decided  to  rai^e  the  American  flag  at 
Montere3\ 

Sloat  said :  *'  I  'd  rather  be  blamed  for  doing  too 
much,  than  doing  too  little."  He  demanded  the 
surrender  of  the  Mexican  fort,  and  was  referred 
to  General  Castro.      Two  hundred  and  fifty  men 


then  marched  up,  and  without  the  firing  of  a  gun 
pulled  down  the  Mexican  flag  and  hoisted  in  its 
place  "  Old  Glory."  This  was  on  the  6th  of  July, 
1846. 

As  it  floated  its  starry  folds  to  the  breeze,  the 
men  gave  a  mighty  cheer.  Twenty-one  guns  were 
fired  as  a  salute  to  the  flag;  and  from  that  moment 
in  law  Mexican  rule  ceased  and  California  became 
a  part  of  the  United  States. 


112  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 

Commodore  Sloat  said  to  the  sailors :  "  Do  not  tar- 
nish the  hopes  of  bright  success  by  doing  any  act 
that  you  'd  be  ashamed  to  acknowledge  before  your 
God  or  country.  Treat  the  people  friendly,  and  offer 
no  insult  or  offense  to  any  one,  particularly  women." 

In  a  few  days  the  American  flag  floated  over 
Sutter's  Fort,  Sonoma,  and  Bodega  Bay ;  and  in  the 
country  north  and  south  it  was  hailed  with  delight. 
It  was  on  July  9,  1846,  that  Commander  Mont- 
gomery, with  seventy  men,  marched  to  the  plaza  of 
San  Francisco,  then  called  Yerba  Buena,  and,  amid 
the  cheers  of  the  people,  hauled  down  the  Mexican 
colors  and  raised  our  country's  flag. 

On  the  same  afternoon  Lieutenant  Missroon,  with 
a  few  men,  went  to  the  fort  at  the  Presidio.  He 
found  it  deserted.  The  old  Spanish  cannons,  cast 
several  centuries  ago,  and  some  small  iron  guns, 
spiked  and  useless,  were  exposed  to  the  weather. 
The  old  adobe  walls  were  crumbled  and  the  old  tile 
roofs  tumbled  in. 

"  Old  Glory  "  was  hoisted  on  the  ramparts,  and 
has  since  kept  a  sleepless  watch  and  ward  over  the 
Golden  Gate.  

BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Rio  Grande  (re'o  gran'dg),  salute  (sa-luf),  Mazatlan  (ma- 
sat-lan'), Yerba  Buena  (yer'babwa'na).  Presidio  (pra-se'de-o), 
acknowledge  (ak-norej  ,  Bodega  (bo-da' ga),  ramparts  (ram'- 
pftrts),  commodore  (kom' mo-dor),  hoisted  (hoist' ed),  tarnish 
(tar'nisb),  referred  (re-ferd')j  revolution  (rev-o-lu'shun). 


THE   DISCOVERY   OF   GOLD. 


OLD,  gold,  gold  !  Have  you  ever  seen  it  in 
the  sand  or  in  the  rocks?  The  first  man 
to  see  gold  in  the  sand  of  California  was 
John  W.  Marshall.  The  story  of  how  he 
found  the  yellow  pebbles  will  interest  you. 
He  had  built  houses,  also  saw-mills  and  grist- 
mills. Lumber  was  very  high  in  California  at  that 
time;  so  he  thought  it  would  be  a  good  scheme  to 
build  a  saw-mill.  He  got  John  A.  Sutter,  a  Swiss, 
who  built  Sutter's  Fort,  now  owned  by  the  Native 
Sons  of  the  Golden  West,  to  furnish  him  some 
money  and  food. 

Marshall  started  off  in  search  of  a  site  upon  which 
to  build  a  mill.     He  found 
one  on  the  north  fork  of  the 
American  River,  at  a  place 
now  known  as  Coloma. 

Ox-teams,  carts,  pack-ani- 
mals, tools,  and  food  were  on 
the  grounds  in  a  few  days, 
and  the  mill  was  up  on  the 
15th  of  January,  1848.    Sut- 


Reference  Topics. 

The  Building  of  the 
Mill,  Jan.  15,1848. 

The  Test  of  the  Goid. 

Sutter's  King. 

James  Buchanan. 

The  Gold  Excite- 
ment. 

Marshall's  Monu- 
ment. 


113 


114  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 

ter  furnished  the  money  and  Marshall  the  experi- 
ence.    When  the  mill  was   ready  to  run,  it  was 

I 1    found    that    the     ditch 

which  was  to  lead  the 
water  to  the  wheel  was 
not  deep  enough. 

Marshall  opened  the 
flood-gates  and  let  a 
big  swift  stream  rush 
through  to  deepen  the 
ditch.  The  water  run 
all  night.  In  the  morn- 
ing he  shut  the  gates, 
and  went  down  to  see 
the  effect. 

He  was  alone.  The 
swift  current  had  dug 
out  the  side  and  the  bot- 
tom, and  spread  at  the 
end  of  tlie  ditch  a  mass 
of  sand  and  gravel. 
While  looking  at  it,  he 
saw  beneath  the  water 
in  the  ditch  some  lit- 
tle yellow  pebbles.  He 
picked  one  up  and 
looked  at  it  closely.  Marshall  knew  that  gold  was 
bright,   heavy,   and   easily   hammered.     The  sub- 


Sutter,  John  Augustus, 

I     was  born  in  Baden,  February 
I     15,    18C3.    He  was    the   son   of 
I     fciwiss  parents.    He  received  a 
'     commission  in  the  French  ar- 
I     my,  and  became  a  captain.    He 
I     arrived  in  New  York,  to  select 
I     a   location    for    a    colony,   in 
July,  1834,  and  located  in  Mis- 
souri.   He   joined    a   party  of 
1     hunters  and  travelers,  and,  af- 
j     ter  making  a  tour  of  New  Mex- 
ico, he   went   as   far   as  Fort 
Vancouver.    He  sailed  for  the 
'     Sandwich    Islands,    and   from 
there  to  Sitka,  then  down  the 
coast  to  San  Francisco,  then  up 
the  Sacramento  River,  where 
he  built   the   stockade  which 
afterwards  became  famous  as 
Sutter's  Fort.    He  became  the 
owner  of  very  valuable  estates. 
He  had  a  flour-mill  that  cost 
125,000,  a  saw-mill  |10,000,  and 
thousands  of  cattle,  sheep,  and 
hogs. 

The  discovery  of  gold  re- 
sulted in  his  ruin.  The  gold- 
hunters  squatted  on  his  lands, 
and  he  spent  his  money  and 
property  in  fruitless  litigation. 
The  California  Legislature 
granted  him  a  pension  of  |'250 
per  month.  In  1873,  he  re- 
moved 10  Lancaster,  Pa.  He 
died  in  Washington,  D.  C, 
June  17,  1S80. 


THE    DISCOVERY    OF    GOLD. 


115 


stance  he  had  in  the  hollow  of  his  hand  was  bright 
and  heavy.  He  laid  it  down  on  one  stone  and  took 
up  another  stone  and  hammered  the  yellow  pebble 
into  different  shapes. 

The  vision  of  millions  did  not  dawn  upon  him. 
He  did  not  know  that  that  little  pebble  would  peo- 
ple the  land  and  make  California  leap  into  greatness. 

Marshall   returned  to    . 

the  mill,  and  said  to  the 
man  that  was  working 
at  the  wheel :  "  I  have 
found  it."  ''What  is  it?" 
asked  the  man.  "  Gold," 
said  Marshall.  "Oh, no," 
said  the  man  ;  ^'  that  can 
not  be." 

Marshall  held  out  his 
yellow  pebble  and  said  : 
'^  1  know  it  to  be  nothing 
else."  The  men  about 
the   mill  had  no  doubt 


Marshall,  James  Wil- 
son, discoverer  of  gold,  was 
born  in  New  Jersey  in  1812. 
He  went  to  Oregon  in  1844. 
He  came  to  California  in  1847, 
and  entered  the  service  of  Sut- 
ter. He  built  a  mill  at  Coloma, 
where  he  discovered  gold.  He 
passed  twenty-eight  years  in 
poverty,  while  the  State  was 
being  built  from  the  gold  that 
he  discovered.  He  was  never 
married,  and  died  at  Coloma, 
where  he  lived  so  long,  on 
August  8,  1885.  He  received  a 
small  pension  from  the  State, 
and  the  State  has  erected  a 
monument,  which  stands  at 
Coloma. 


read  about  Sir  Walter  Raleigh  having  taken  home 
to  England  a  lot  of  yellow  cla}^  from  Virginia,  and 
had  little  faith  in  the  discovery. 

Marshall  started  for  Sutter's  Fort.  He  carried 
with  him  a  number  of  nuggets  in  a  little  rag  pack- 
age. Taking  Sutter  aside  where  nobody  else  could 
hear  or  see  them,  Marshall  showed  him  the  small 


116  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

yellow  lumps  and  said:  '^  It  is  gold."  Sutter  tested 
it,  read  articles  on  gold,  weighed  it,  and  said  that 
Marshall  was  right,  and  that  the  lumps  were  real 
gold. 

Marshall  started  back  in  the  rain.  The  great 
white  rain  of  California  came  down,  but  he  went 
right  on.    Sutter  promised  to  visit  the  mill  the  next 


day.     Marshall  was  so  excited  that  he  could  not 
wait  his  coming,  and  met  him  on  the  road. 

The  flood-gates  at  the  mill  were  turned  on  again, 
and  Sutter  picked  up  a  lot  of  the  yellow  lumps, 
which  he  afterwards  had  made  into  a  ring,  on 
which  were  written  these  words : 

"  The  First  Gold  found  in  California, 
January,  1848." 

Sutter  wanted  the  discovery  kept  secret,  so  that 
th^  men  who  were  working  for  him  on  a  mill  near 


THE   DISCOVERY   OP   GOLD. 


117 


the  fort  would  not  leave  him  and  go  to  the  gold- 
fields.     A  woman  told  the  secret  to  a  teamster,  who, 


in  turn,  told    Brannan  and    Smith,  merchants  at 
Sutter's  Fort. 

Great  excitement  was  aroused  at  once.  Men  left 
their  stores,  trades,  and  professions,  and  crowded 
into  the  gold-fields.     The  whole  country  sounded 


118  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

with  the  sordid  cry  of  "  Gold,  gold,  gold !  "  Houses 
were  left  half-finished,  fields  half- planted,  and  news- 
papers stopped  because  the  editors  and  printers  had 
gone  to  the  mines. 

Thomas  0.  Larkin  wrote  a  full  account  of  the 
gold  discovery  to  James  Buchanan,  then  Secretary 
of  State.  President  Polk  called  attention  to  the 
matter  in  his  message  to  Congress,  December  5, 
1848. 

People  came  to  California  by  the  thousands — 
brave  men,  honest  men,  brainy  men,  in  search  of 
gold.  There  were  also  many  true,  good  women.  In 
1849,  there  came  by  sea  about  thirty-five  thousand 
people,  and  across  the  plains  about  forty-five  thou- 
sand people. 

The  coming  of  so  many  people  in  so  brief  a 
space  of  time  to  a  new  country  created  conditions 
that  had  not  been  seen  before  and  may  never 
be  seen  again. 

They  laid  the  foundations  of  California,  and  gave 
it  the  name  which  it  will  always  bear  as  the  Golden 
State  of  the  Union. 

The  little  lump  of  gold  grew  to  millions  of  dol- 
lars. John  W.  Marshall,  the  discoverer,  lived  to  be 
an  old  man.  The  State  gave  him  money  in  his 
old  age,  and  when  he  died  erected  a  monument  to 
him.  It  stands  at  Coloma,  in  sight  of  the  historic 
old  mill. 


THE   COCOA-TREE.  119 

BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

Slitter  (sut'er),  experience  (^ks-pe'ri-ens),  substance 
(sub'stans),  nuggets  (nug'gets),  sordid  (sor'did),  secretary 
(s6c're-ta-rl),  historic  (his-t6r'ik),  editors  (ed'i-ters),Virginia 
(ver-jin'i-a). 


THE  COCOA-TREE. 

BY   CHARIiES  WARREN   STODDARD. 

CAST  on  the  water  by  a  careless  hand, 
Day  after  day  the  winds  persuaded  me; 
Onward  I  drifted  till  a  coral-tree 
Stayed  me  among  its  branches,  where  the  sand 
Gathered  about  me,  and  I  slowly  grew, 
Fed  by  the  constant  sun  and  the  inconstant  dew. 

The  sea-birds  build  their  nests  against  my  root, 
And  eye  my  slender  body's  horny  case; 
Widowed  within  this  solitar}^  place, 

Into  the  thankless  sea  I  cast  my  fruit; 

Joyless  I  thrive,  for  no  man  may  partake 
Of  all  the  store  I  bear  and  harvest  for  his  sake. 

No  more  I  hear  the  kisses  of  the  morn; 

The  harsh  winds  rob  me  of  the  life  they  gave; 

I  watch  my  tattered  shadow  in  the  wave. 
And  hourly  droop  and  nod  my  crest  forlorn, 

While  all  my  fibers  stiffen  and  grow  numb 

Beckoning  the  tardy  ships,  the  ships  that  never 
come  I 


WHO    NAMED   THE   GOLDEN    GATE? 

npHE  entrance  to  the  Bay  of  San  Francisco  has 
-■-  always  been  the  delight  of  the  poet.  It  has 
been  pictured  in  song  during  the  last  fifty  years  as 
frequently  as  Mount  Parnassus  itself. 

The  strait  between  the  sea  and  the  bay  is  pictur- 
esque. Mt.  Tamalpais  stands  on  one  side,  Sutro 
Heights  on  the  other,  and  the  wild  sea  dashes  its 
foam  against  tlie  rugged  rocks.  It  makes  a  picture 
worthy  the  inspired  fancy  of  the  poet. 

The  view  of  the  Golden  Gate  is  always  beautiful. 
As  the  sun  dips  into  the  sea  and  shines  back  through 
the  Golden  Gate  the  picture  is  sublime. 

The  strait  is  one  mile  wide  at  its  narrowest  point, 
and  five  miles  long  from  sea  to  bay. 

John  C.  Fremont,  in  his  book,  "Memoirs  of  My 
Life,"  writes:  "To  this  gate  I  gave  the  name  of 
Chrysopylse  or  Golden  Gate,  for  the  same  reasons 
that  the  harbor  of  Byzantium  (Constantinople)  was 
named  the  Golden  Horn  (Chrysoceras)." 

The  name  was  suggested  to  him  by  the  beauty  of 
the  sunset,  the  gatelike  entrance  to  the  bay,  and 
the  value  of  the  harbor  for  the  commerce  of  the 
world.  He  put  the  name  on  the  map  that  was  sent 
to  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  in  June,  1848. 

120    . 


THE   GOLDEN   GATE. 

BY   MADGE   MORRIS  WAGNER. 

DOWN  by  the  side  of  the  Golden  Gate 
The  city  stands; 
Grimly,  and  solemn,  and  silent,  wait 

The  walls  of  land, 
Guarding  its  door  as  a  treasure  fond ; 
And  none  may  pass  to  the  sea  beyond, 
But  they  who  trust  to  the  king  of  fate 
And  pass  through  the  Golden  Gate. 
The  ships  go  out  through  its  narrow  door, 
White-sailed  and  laden  with  precious  store ; 
White-sailed  and  laden  with  precious  freight 
The  ships  come  back  through  the  Golden  Gate. 
The  sun  comes  up  o'er  the  eastern  crest, 
The  sun  goes  down  in  the  golden  West, 
And  the  East  is  West,  and  the  West  is  East, 
And  the  sun  from  his  toil  of  day  released. 
Shines  back  through  the  Golden  Gate. 

Down  by  the  side  of  the  Golden  Gate — 
The  door  of  life, — 

121 


122  WESTERN    SERIES   OF   READERS. 

Are  resting  our  cities,  sea-embowered, 
White-walled,  and  templed,  and  marble-towered ,- 

The  end  of  strife. 
The  ships  have  sailed  from  the  silent  walls, 
And  over  their  sailing  the  darkness  falls: 
Oh,  the  sea  is  so  dark,  and  so  deep  and  wide! 
Will  the  ships  come  back  from  the  farther  side? 
"  Nay,  but  there  is  no  farther  side," 
A  voice  is  whispering  across  the  tide — 
''  Time  itself  is  a  circle  vast, 
Building  the  future  out  of  the  past; 
For  the  new  is  old,  and  the  old  is  new, 
And  the  true  is  false,  and  the  false  is  true, 
And  the  West  is  East,  and  the  East  is  West, 
And  the  sun  that  rose  o'er  the  eastern  crest. 
Gone  down  in  the  West  of  his  circling  track, 
Forever  and  ever  is  shining  back 
Through  the  Golden  Gate  of  life." 

0  Soul !  thy  city  is  standing  down 

By  its  Golden  Gate; 
Over  it  hangs  the  menacing  frown 

Of  the  king  of  fate. 
The  sea  of  knowledge,  so  near  its  door, 
Is  rolling  away  to  the  farther  shore — 

The  Orient  side, — 
And  the  ocean  is  dark,  and  deep,  and  wide! 
But  thy  harbor,  0  Soul !  is  filled  with  sails, 


THE    GOLDEN    GATE.  123 

Freighted  with  messages,  wonder-tales, 
From  the  lands  that  swing  in  the  sapphire  sky, 
Where  the  gardens  of  God  in  the  ether  lie. 
If  only  thy  blinded  eyes  could  see, 
If  only  thy  deaf-mute  heart  could  hear. 
The  ocean  of  knowledge  is  open  to  thee. 

And  its  Golden  Gate  is  near! 
For  the  dead  are  the  living — the  living  the  dead, — 
And  out  of  the  darkness  the  light  is  shed; 
And  the  East  is  West,  and  the  West  is  East, 
And  the  sun,  from  his  toil  of  day  released, 
Shines  back  through  the  Golden  Gate. 


m 


THE   STORY   OF   FREMONT. 


"TTe  wove  the  white  flower  of  a  blameless  life." 
J"L     This  ideal  hero  of  America  was  born  in 
South  Carolina  during  the  War  of  1812-13,  of  an 
old  and  honored  French  family. 

He  seems  to  have  been  born  a  student  and  a 
scholar;  for  we  find  him,  while  yet  a  boy,  teaching 
mathematics  on  a  Government  ship  in  Cuban  waters. 
His  studious  and  correct  habits  were  rewarded  with 
a  lieutenant's  commission ;  and  we  next  find  him 
busy  surveying  and  making  maps  of  the  then  uncer- 
tain line  between  his  own  country  and  Canada,  on 
the  head-waters  of  our  great  rivers. 

Benton,  the  broad-minded    , 

and  brave  senator  of  Mis- 
souri, had  been  a  colonel 
under  General  Jackson  in 
the  late  war  with  England ; 
and  it  would  seem  he  never 
quite  laid  down  his  sword, 
but  kept  his  eye  on  the  Brit- 
ish Lion  to  the  north  to  the 
end  of  his  life. 

124 


Reference  Topics. 

Senator  Benton. 
The  Britlsli  Lion. 
Fremont  the  Student. 
Fremont  the  Explorer. 
Kit  Carson. 
California's  First  U.  S. 

Senator. 
Fremont,       Candidate 

for   President. 
Fremont's  Death. 


THE    STORY    OF    FREMONT. 


125 


He  was  soon  attracted  by  the  quiet  energy,  pure 
life,  and  scientific  skill  of  young  Fremont,  far  up 
in  the  then  unknown  wilderness  of  our  Western 
frontier,  and  when  the  still  boyish-looking  lieuten- 
ant was  called  to  Wash- 
ington to  report,  the 
great  senator  took  him 
to  his  house. 

There  he  met,  loved, 
and  married  Benton's 
daughter,  Jessie,  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  and 
brilliant  young  women 
in  all  the  world. 

But  there  was  work, 
brave  and  dangerous 
work,  to  be  done,  and 
Fremont  must  be  up  and 
away.  The  great  big 
paw  of  the  British  Lion 
was  reaching  down, 
down,  down  from  Can- 
ada ;  it  already  was  laid 
on  Oregon,  and  was  reaching  on  down  for  the  Bay 
of  San  Francisco. 

Benton  stood  up  in  his  place  in  the  Senate,  time 
after  time,  and  almost  continually  cried  out,  as  he 
pointed  beyond  the  Rocky  Mountains : 


Carson,  Kit  ( Christo- 
pher), hunter  and  soldier, 
was  born  in  Kentucky,  Decem- 
ber 21, 1809.  When  he  was  fif- 
teen, he  was  apprenticed  to  a 
saddler,  but  two  years  later 
became  a  trapper,  roaming 
over  the  plains  between  the 
Rocky  Mountains  and  the  Pa- 
cific Ocean.  For  sixteen  years 
his  rifle  supplied  every  parti- 
cle of  food  on  which  he  lived. 
In  1812,  after  the  death  of  his 
Indian  wife,  he  took  his  daugh- 
ter to  St.  Louis  to  be  educated, 
and  there  joined  F.emont.  Kit 
Carson  was  Fremont's  guide 
on  both  his  exploring  expedi- 
tions. He  married  a  Spanish 
woman  in  New  Mexico,  and 
•settled  there  in  1853.  In  the 
Civil  War  of  1861-65,  he  was 
loyal  to  the  Government,  and 
was  made  brigadier-general  for 
his  services.  Kit  Carson  died 
at  Fort  Lyon,  Colo.,  May  23, 
1868. 


126  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

'*  Yonder  in  the  west  lies  the  Orient;  yonder  lies 
the  path  to  India!  " 


General  Fremont. 


And  so  Fremont  was  sent  to  find  the  path,  even 
before  the  honeymoon  was  well  half  over.     lie  left 


THE   STORY   OF    FREMONT.  127 

his  young  wife  at  St.  Louis,  and  there  procured  a 
cannon  of  Captain  Robert  E.  Lee,  afterwards  the 
great  General  Lee,  and  always  the  true  friend  of  Fre- 
mont, and  pushed  on  before  the  snow  and  ice 
melted  from  the  mountains. 

And  when  it  became  known  that  he  had  taken 
a  cannon  with  him,  the  President  sent  an  order 
that  he  must  not  take  the  cannon,  as  his  was  a 
mission  of  peace.  But  Jessie  opened  the  letter,  and 
forgot  to  send  it  on  for  half  a  year!  So  that  the 
brave  explorer  was  not  left  defenseless. 

And  what  perils  I  One  night  near  the  Modoc 
lava-beds,  more  than  a  third  of  his  force  was  killed 
or  wounded ;  and  but  for  Kit  Carson,  not  a  man  of 
Fremont's  had  been  left  alive  in  that  hand-to-hand 
battle  in  the  darkness. 

Fremont  reports  that  the  arrows  had  steel  points, 
and  were  supplied  from  a  British  trading-post  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Umpqua  River,  Oregon.  He  adds: 
"  Kit  Carson  says  they  are  the  most  beautifully  war- 
like arrows  I  ever  saw."  The  Athenseum,  an  English 
authority  of  this  time,  said :  "  We  are  glad  that 
Lieutenant  Fremont  has  been  sent  to  survey  Ore- 
gon; for  we  know  it  will  be  well  done,  and  we  will 
then  know  how  much  blood  and  treasure  to  spend 
to  secure  that  wild  region." 

Fremont  led  three  of  these  daring  experiences, 
one  after  the  other,  in  ensuing  years.     He  named 


128 


WESTERN   SERIES   OP    READERS. 


the  Golden  Gate  long  before  gold  was  found,  fought 
through  the  Mexican  War,  from  Mount  Shasta  to 


Kit  Carson. 


Los  Angeles,  and  then  was  made  the  first  United 
States  Senator  from  California. 


THE   STORY    OF    FREMONT. 


129 


Never  had  there  been  such  an  active  life  in  all 
history,  perhaps;  certainly  never  such  a  useful,  and 
pure,  and  clean  life.  It  is  worth  noticing  here  that 
Fremont,  like  Washington  and  Lincoln,  was  always 


Fremont's  Headquarters  at  Los  Angeles. 


a  student,  a  student  from  his  cradle  to  his  grave. 
While  others  laughed  or  told  stories  of  adventure 
around  the  camp  or  cabin  fires,  Fremont  was  in  his 
tent  or  under  a  tree  with  his  books.  He  knew  all 
science,  every  tree  or  plant,  and  could  talk  to  his 


130  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

guides  and  soldiers,  made  up  of  all  sorts  of  people, 
in  almost  any  tongue. 

Fremont,  from  first  to  last,  was  the  hero  of  heroes, 
and  the  ideal  of  the  young,  and  pure,  and  good, 
from  one  end  of  the  land  to  the  other.  If  only  the 
pure  and  good,  or  if  only  the  youths  could  have 
voted  for  him  in  1856,  when  he  ran  for  President, 
he  would  have  carried  every  State  in  the  Union. 

In  the  fearful  Civil  War  he  was  the  most  con- 
spicuous figure  until  he  issued  his  emancipation 
proclamation,  thus  anticipating  President  Lincoln. 
Envy  and  pitiful  little  jealousies  that  too  often  pur- 
sue great  souls,  were  clamoring  for  his  retirement 
from  the  field  of  action.  Yet  he  could  not  be  idle  for 
a  day. 

He  had  planned  the  first  railroad  to  California, 
and  now  would  have  perfected  it,  but  for  the  envi- 
ous and  rich  and  powerful  men  who  again  thwarted 
him. 

In  fact  Fremont,  if  we  except  his  fortunate  marri- 
age, was  never  the  favorite  of  fortune.  He  was  not 
cunning;  he  never  cared  for  money;  and,  let  it  be 
proudly  said,  with  all  his  high  ofiices  and  great 
opportunities,  he  died  poor. 

Of  his  final  hours  (1890)  let  his  sweet,  gentle 
Jessie  speak.     She  says: 

''  Of  the  many  kindnesses  unknown  Fate  reserved 
for  Fremont,  the  kindest  was  the  last.    He  had  just 


THE   STORY    OF    FREMONT.  131 

succeeded  in  a  most  cherished  wish.  Peace  and  rest 
were  again  secured,  when  he  was  attacked  in  New 
York  by  what  he  thought  was  a  passing  summer 
illness.  His  physician  recognized  danger,  and 
quickl}^  the  cessation  of  pain  showed  a  fatal  condi- 
tion. 

"Night  and  day  his  loving  son  watched  over  him, 
and  with  their  long-time  friend  and  physician,  kept 
unbroken  his  happy  composure.  Rousing  from  a 
prolonged,  deep  sleep  the  General  said :  ^If  I  con- 
tinue so  comfortable  I  can  finish  my  writing  next 
week  and  go  home.'  Seeing  the  eyes  closing  again, 
his  physician  said,  to  test  the  mind  : 

"'Home?     Where  do  you  call  home,  General?' 
"  One  last  clear  look,  a  pleased  smile:  'California, 
of  course.' " 

"  Hero,  scholar,  cavalier, 

Bayard  of  thy  brave  new  land, 
Poppies  for  thy  bed  and  bier, 
Dreamful  poppies  foot  and  hand. 

**  Poppies  garmented  in  gold  ; 
Poppies  of  the  land  you  won— 
Love  and  gratitude  untold- 
Poppies— peace— the  setting  sun !  " 


BLACKBOARD   WORDS, 

Ideal  (i-de'al),  government  (guv'ern-ment),  frontier 
(fron'ter).  Orient  (o'ri-ent),  Los  Angeles  (16s  an'-ge-les),  Mo- 
doc (mo'dok),  Lincoln  (link'un),  emancipation  (e-man-ci- 
pa-tion),  recognized  (rek'og-nizd),  clamoring  (klam'er-ing). 


HOW   CALIFORNIA   CAME   INTO   THE  UNION. 


NOW,  I'm  going  to  tell  you  a  story  that's  not  like 
any  of  the  others.  It  has  no  hero.  Our 
country  had  a  big  war  with  Mexico,  and  we  won. 
California  and  much  other  land  became  part  of  the 
United  States. 

The  people  of  California  soon  wanted  to  form  a 
State.  A  convention  met  at  Monterey,  September 
1, 1849.  A  constitution  was  adopted,  officers  elected, 
and  laws  passed  before  California  was  admitted  into 
the  Union.  The  first  legislature  met  at  San  Jose. 
It  passed  many  laws  and  gave  the  names  to  the 
counties  of  the  State.  Fre- 
mont and  Gwin  were  elected 
United  States  Senators.  They 
went  to  Washington  and 
asked  that  California  be  ad- 
mitted to  the  Union.  The 
President  sent  a  special  mes- 
sage to  Congress  about  Cal- 
ifornia. 

The  giants  of  the  Senate — 
Clav,  Calhoun,  Webster,  Sew- 


Reference  Topics, 

Convention  at  Mon- 
terey. 

The  First  U.  S.  Sena- 
tors. 

AVebster's  Speech. 

Seward's  Speech. 

Calhoun. 

September  9,  1850. 

^Vhy  the  Admission 
Mvas  Opposed. 


132 


HOW    CALIFORNIA    CAME    INTO    THE    UNION.     133 

ard,  and  Jefferson  Davis — men  whom  you  will 
read  about  in  the  history  of  your  country, —  were 
interested  in  California.  Calhoun  and  Davis  did  not 
want  California  admitted  because  of  the  Slavery 
Question. 

Almost  the  last  speech  Calhoun  made  was  against 
California.  He  thought  it  would  bring  trouble  be- 
tween the  North  and  the  South.  He  tried  to  talk 
again,  but  was  too  weak,  and  another  Senator  read 
his  speech.  It  was  a  great  speech  in  all  the  arts  that 
go  to  make  up  a  fine  oration. 

Daniel  Webster  said  :  "I  believe  in  the  Spartan 
maxim  — '  Improve,  adorn  what  you  have;  seek  no 
further.'  I  do  not  fear  slavery  in  California,  be- 
cause the  soil,  climate,  and  everything  connected 
with  the  region  is  opposed  to  slave  labor.  There 
has  been  talk  of  secession,  peaceable  secession.  You 
miglit  as  well  talk  of  a  planet  withdrawing  from 
the  solar  system  without  a  convulsion,  as  to  talk 
about  peaceable  secession. 

''The  Union,  which  has  been  so  hard  to  form, 
has  linked  together  the  destinies  of  all  parts  of  the 
country,  and  has  made  a  great  nation,  because  it  is 
a  united  nation,  with  a  common  name,  and  a 
common  flag,  and  a  common  patriotism.  It  has 
conferred  upon  the  South  no  less  than  upon  the 
North  great  blessings. 

"There  may  be  violence;  there  may  be  revolu- 


134  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 

tion;  the  great  dead  may  be  disturbed  in  their 
graves. 

"All  this  is  possible,  but  not  peaceable  secession. 
The  Union  is  one;  it  is  a  complete  whole.  It  is 
bounded,  like  the  buckler  of  Achilles,  on  either  side 
by  the  ocean." 

William  H.  Seward,  another  name  that  you  will 
hear  more  about  in  history,  said:  "California ought 
to  be  admitted  at  once;  California  comes  from  that 
clime  where  the  West  dies  away  into  the  rising 
East;  California,  which  bounds  the  empire  and  the 
continent;  California,  the  youthful  queen  of  the 
Pacific,  in  robes  of  freedom  inlaid  with  gold,  is 
doubly  welcome! 

"  The  stars  and  stripes  should  wave  over  its  ports, 
or  it  will  raise  aloft  a  banner  for  itself.  It  would  be 
no  mean  ambition  if  it  became  necessary  for  its  own 
protection  to  found  an  independent  nation  on  the 
Pacific. 

"It  is  farther  away  than  the  old  colonies  from 
England;  it  is  out  of  the  reach  of  railroads;  the 
prairies,  the  mountains,  and  the  desert,  an  isthmus 
ruled  by  foreign  powers,  and  a  cape  of  storms  are 
between  it  and  the  armies  of  the  Union." 

The  delegates  from  California  prepared  a  new  ad- 
dress in  which  they  related  in  detail  the  claims  of 
California  to  be  admitted  into  the  Union. 

It  seems  strange  now,  when  there  is  no  longer 


HOW    CALIFORNIA    CAME    INTO    THE    UNION.     135 

any  division  between  North  and  South,  that  Con- 
gress sliould  hesitate  to  receive  as  part  of  the  Union 
the  Golden  Land  of  the  West. 

The  bill  making  California  a  State  passed  the 
Senate,  August  13,  1850.  There  were  thirty-four 
Senators  who  voted  for  it,  and  eight  against  it.  On 
September  7th,  the  bill  was  up  for  passage  in  the 
House.  There  were  several  attempts  to  defeat  it, 
but  it  was  passed  by  one  hundred  and  fifty-four 
ayes  against  fifty-six  noes. 

The  President,  Millard  Fillmore,  signed  the  bill 
September  9,  1850.  California  was  the  thirty-first 
State — the  thirty-first  star  in  the  flag,  in  order  of 
date, — but  the  peer  in  many  respects  of  many  States 
in  the  Union. 

It  has  contributed  more  than  its  share  to  the  ma- 
terial and  intellectual  wealth  of  the  world.  Its 
treasures  of  gold,  of  soil,  of  climate;  the  patriotism 
of  its  citizens;  the  excellence  of  its  schools,  churches, 
and  libraries;  its  spirit  of  progress,  its  color  and 
art  atmosphere,  make  California  the  ideal  Golden 
State. 

BLACKBOARD    WORDS. 

San  Jose  (siin  ho-stV),  Monterey  (mon-ta-ra'),  convention 
(k6n-v6n'shiin),  constitution  (kon'sti-tu'shun),  secession 
(se-s6sh'un),  successor  (suk-s^s'ser),  Calhoun  (kal-hoon'), 
libraries  (ITbrfi-ries),  ambition  (ftm-bish'un),  atmosphere 
(at'm6s-fer),  solar  (so'ler),  Achilles  (a-kil'lez),  delegates 
(d61'e-gats). 


THE  STORY  OF  A  BATTLE  WITH  THE  INDIANS. 


BATTLE  —  a  real  battle  with  the  In- 
dians !  It  took  place  at  Castle  Crags 
in  1855.  And  it  is  said  to  be  the  last 
battle  of  record  where  the  Indians 
fonght  with  arrows  only. 

It    occurred    near    Mount   Shasta, 
which  the  poet  has  described  as — 

'    ■  "  Lone  as  God,  white  as  a  winter  moon." 

"Mountain  Joe,"  a  picturesque  figure  of  pioneer 
days,  was  one  of  the  men  who  took  an  active  part 
in  the  battle. 

The  entire  country  in  the  vicinity  of  Shasta  was 
a  sea  of  tents.  The  soil  had  been  turned  upside 
down  by  the  miners.  The 
river  was  red  with  red  dirt. 
The  fishes  died.  This  was  in 
1855,  when  the  gokl  excite- 
ment was  great. 

The  Indians  had  deter- 
mined to  drive  out  the 
whites.  It  led  to  a  general 
war,  which   resulted  in  the 

136 


Reference  Topics. 

Mount  Shasta. 
Castle  Crags. 
The  Shasta  Indians. 
Arrows. 
Joaquin  Miller. 
The  Battle. 
Mountalan  Joe. 
Indians  of  To-day. 


STORY    OF    A    BATTLE    WITH    THE    INDIANS.       137 

extinction  of  many  tribes  in  Oregon  and  some 
in  California. 

R.  P.  Gibson,  who  had  married  an  Indian  chiefs 
daughter,  was  the  leader  against  the  Shasta  Indians, 
who  were  in  revolt;  and  he  was  aided  by  some 
friendly  Indians. 

Joaquin  Miller,  who  was  then  known  as  "Moun- 
tain Joe's  Boy,"  fought  and  was  wounded  in  the 
battle  of  Castle  Crags.  He  tells  the  story  of  the 
battle  as  follows: 

"We  rested  by  a  deep,  dark  lake  which  the  In- 
dians call  the  abode  of  their  devil,  Ku-ku-pa-rick, 
and  they  refused  to  approach  its  grassy,  wooded 
shores. 

"  Here  Gibson,  leaving  his  Indians  for  the  first 
time,  passed  from  man  to  man  as  they  crouched 
under  the  trees.  He  told  them  that  there  was  to 
be  a  fight,  and  a  fight  to  a  finish;  tliat  the  hostiles 
were  not  an  hour  distant,  and  that  no  one  could 
turn  back  and  live;  for  if  we  did  not  kill  them  they 
would  kill  us.  He  told  us  that  they  had  come 
down  out  of  the  Castle  to  kill  deer,  and  so  their 
arrows  were  not  poisoned,  and  that  we  could 
swim. 

"  He  broke  us  up  in  parties,  putting  good  and 
bad  together,  with  Indians  at  the  head  of  each. 
He  told  me  to  go  with  Joe,  whom  he  sent  to  make 
a  show  of  attack  on  the  side  next  to  Soda  Springs. 


138  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

When  near  the  hostiles  Joe  put  me  behind  a  tree 
on  the  edge  of  a  small  open  place,  and  told  me  to 
stay  there.  Then  he  went  on  creeping  through  the 
dense  brush,  to  place  the  other  men. 

''  I  put  some  bullets  into  my  mouth  so  as  to  have 
them  handy,  but  I  do  not  know  what  I  did  with 
them.  I  fired  a  few  shots  after  Joe  opened  the  fight, 
but  hit  only  brush  and  rocks,  I  reckon.  And  now 
pandemonium!  Indians  do  not  often  yell  in  battle; 
but  on  both  sides  of  us  now,  the  yelling  was  simply 
fiendish.  They  yelled  from  the  top  of  the  Castle 
to  the  bottom,  it  seemed  to  me. 

"  We  had  taken  the  enemy  entirely  unawares, — 
asleep  most  of  them,  after  the  morning's  chase, — 
and  our  first  shots  brought  down  their  dozing  sen- 
tinels on  the  rocks.  Finally  there  was  some  parley- 
ing, and  the  yelling,  the  whiz  of  arrows,  and  the 
crack  of  rifles  stopped.  Then  some  Indian  women 
came  out  and  across  the  little  gorge  to  Joe  and  his 
men,  and  I,  thinking  they  had  all  surrendered, 
walked  out  into  the  opening. 

"  Gibson  called  from  the  rocks  ahead  of  me  and 
to  my  right,  '  Boys,  the  fight  now  begins,  and  we  've 
got  to  git  them  or  they  git  us.  Come  on!  Who 
will  go  with  me?'  I  answered  that  I  would  go;  for 
it  was  all  a  picnic  so  far  as  I  had  yet  seen,  and  I 
ran  around  to  him.  But  there  was  blood  on  his 
hands  and  blood  on  his  face,  blood  on  all  of  his 


STORY   OF    A    BATTLE    WITH    THE    INDIANS.      139 

Indians,  and   most  of  the  white  men  were  bloody 
and  hot. 

"  The  enemy  used  arrows  entirely.  They  could 
tell  where  we  were,  but  we  knew  where  they  were 
only  when  we  felt  their  sting.   Gibson  led,  or  rather 


Battle  Rock. 


crept,  hastily  on,  his  head  below  the  chaparral.  No 
one  dared  speak.  But  when  we  got  in  position, 
right  in  the  thick  of  it,  our  men  opened.  Then  the 
arrows,  then  the  yelling,  as  never  before! 

''  The  women  and  children  prisoners  down  with 


140  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

Joe  set  up  the  death-song,  as  if  it  was  not  already 
dismal  enough.  The  savages  bantered  us  and  bul- 
lied us,  saying  we  were  all  going  to  be  killed  before 
the  sun  went  down;  that  we  were  already  covered 
with  blood,  and  that  they  had  not  lost  a  man.  I 
had  not  yet  fired  a  shot  since  joining  Gibson,  and, 
rising  up  to  look  for  a  target,  he  told  an  Indian  to 
'  Pull  the  fool  down  by  the  hair,'  which  he  prompt- 
ly did. 

"  The  battle  had  lasted  for  hours.  The  men  were 
choking,  and  the  sun  was  near  going  down.  We 
must  kill  or  be  killed,  and  that  soon.  We  must  do 
our  work  before  dark.  The  white  man  has  little 
show  with  an  Indian  in  battle  at  night. 

"  Gibson  gathered  all  who  could  or  would  go, 
and  took  still  another  place  by  storm.  Then  Lane 
fell,  mortally  wounded  by  an  arrow  in  the  eye.  I 
saw  Gibson's  gun  fall  from  his  hand  from  the  very 
deluge  of  arrows;  then  all  was  blank,  and  I  knew 
no  more  of  that  battle. 

''  The  fight  was  over  when  I  came  to  my  senses, 
and  it  was  dark.  A  young  man  by  the  name  of 
Jameson  was  trying  to  drag  me  through  the  brush; 
and  it  has  always  seemed  to  me  that  a  good  many 
people  walked  over  me  and  trod  on  me.  I  could 
hear,  but  could  not  see. 

"  An  arrow  had  struck  the  left  side  of  my  face, 
knocked  out  two  teeth,  and  had  forced  its  point 


STORY    OF    A    BATTLE    WITH    THE    INDIANS.      141 

through  at  the  back  of  my  neck.  I  could  liear, 
and  I  knew  the  voices  of  Gibson  and  Joe.  They 
cut  off  the  point  of  the  arrow  and  pulled  it  out  of 
my  face  by  the  feather  end.  Then  I  could  see.  I 
suffered  no  pain,  but  was  benumbed  and  cold  as  we 
lay  under  the  pines.  Joe  held  my  head  all  night, 
expecting  that  I  would  die. 

"  Gibson  had  the  squaw  prisoners  carry  his 
wounded  down  to  the  pack-trail  on  the  banks  of 
the  Sacramento.  They  laid  us  down  under  some 
pines  and  pretty  juniper-trees  on  the  west  side  of 
the  swift,  sweet  river.  And  how  tender  and  how 
kind  these  heroic  men  were!  I  was  as  a  brother 
to  them  now, —  their  boy  hero.  Only  the  day  be- 
fore I  had  been  merely  ^  Mountain  Joe's  Boy.' 

"  Gibson's  loss  in  killed  was  considerable  for  so 
small  a  number  engaged, —  several  Indians,  though 
only  one  white  man.  Indians  never  give  their 
loss,  because  of  encouragement  to  the  enemy;  and 
Mountain  Joe  and  Gibson,  for  a  like  reason,  always 
kept  their  list  of  killed  and  wounded  as  low  as  pos- 
sible, and  spoke  of  the  battle  of  Castle  Crags  as  a 
trifling  affair.  Yet  General  Crook,  in  his  letter  to 
Captain  Gibson,  marveled  that  he  ever  got  out  with 
a  single  man. 

"  I  had  promised  to  mark  the  grave  of  Ike  Hare 
with  a  fragment  of  granite  from  Castle  Crags,  so 
that  those  w^ho   pass  up  and   down  the  pleasant 


142  WESTERN    SERIES   OP    READERS. 

walks  around  Castle  Crags  Tavern  might  look  with 
respect  on  the  resting-place  of  a  brave  man  and  an 
honest  legislator  of  two  States.  But  my  little  tab- 
let would  seem  so  pitiful  in  the  mighty  presence  of 
Mount  Shasta! 

"  And  it  is  Crook's  monument,  and  Dribelbies', 
and  Mountain  Joe's.  The  finger  of  the  Infinite 
traces  and  retraces,  in  storm  or  sun,  the  story  and 
the  glory  of  their  unselfish  valor  here  while  the 
world  endures.     It  is  enough. 

"  There  are  those  who  care  to  read  of  savage  inci- 
dents in  these  border  battles.  But  such  things 
should  be  left  to  obscurity,  and  I  shall  set  down  but 
two  here. 

"  The  first  of  these  was  the  treatment  of  the  dead 
Modoc  chief,  Docas  Dalla,  by  the  chief  of  our  Indian 
allies.  When  the  body  was  dragged  before  him, 
where  he  stood  in  the  heat  and  rage  of  battle  di- 
recting his  men,  he  threw  off  his  robe,  and,  nearly 
naked,  leaped  on  the  naked  body  (for  it  had  al- 
ready been  stripped  and  scalped),  and  there  danced 
and  yelled  as  no  fiend  of  the  infernal  regions  could 
have  danced  and  yelled. 

"  He  called  his  fallen  foe  by  name,  and  mocked 
and  laughed,  and  leaped  up  and  down  on  the  dead 
till  the  body  was  slippery  with  the  blood  which 
gushed  from  its  wounds,  and  he  could  no  longer 
keep  his  footing.     Yet,  after  all,  it  was  only  the  old 


STORY    OF    A    BATTLE    WITH    THE    INDIANS.      143 


Greek  and  Trojan  rage, —  the  story  of  Homer  ii? 
another  form  of  expression ;  and  Castle  Crags  was 
Troy  above  the  clouds. 

''  One  more  incident,  as  described  to  me  by  the 
son  of  this  same  furious  chief,  on  revisiting  the  bat- 


Aborigines 


tie-ground.  This  son  of  the  chief  was  but  a  lad  at 
the  time,  and  so  was  left  by  his  father  with  two 
Indians  and  a  few  white  men  who  were  too  lame 
and  worn-out  to  rush  into  the  fight,  in  charge  of  the 
blankets,  supplies,  and  so  forth.  They  were  left 
in  the  little  depression,  or  dimple,  in  the  saddle  of 


144  WESTERN    SERIES    OP    READERS. 

the  mountain,  a  few  hundred  feet  above  and  to  the 
south  of  Crooks  (or  Castle)  Lake,  and  in  the  Modoc 
pass  or  trail. 

"  When  Gibson  forced  the  fighting,  as  night  came 
on,  the  hostiles  separated,  some  going  down  the 
gorge  as  if  to  reach  their  stores  of  arrows  in  the 
caves  of  Battle  Rock  (for  their  supply  must  have 
been  well-nigh  spent  by  this  time),  while  others 
stole  off  up  the  old  Modoc  trail  that  winds  up  above 
and  around  the  lake,  and  in  which  the  son  of  the 
chief  and  other  Indians,  as  well  as  some  whites,  lay 
concealed. 

"And  here  in  this  dimple,  on  the  great  granite 
backbone  that  heaves  above  and  about  the  lake, — 
here  above  the  clouds,  amid  drifts,  and  banks,  and 
avalanches  of  everlasting  snow,  the  wounded  fugi- 
tives, with  empty  quivers,  and  leaving  a  red  path 
as  they  crawled  or  crept  on  and  up  over  the  banks 
and  drifts  of  snow,  were  met  by  their  mortal  ene- 
mies face  to  face. 

"  If  you  stand  here  facing  Battle  Rock  to  the 
south,  and  with  your  back  to  the  lake,  which  lies 
only  a  few  hundred  feet  to  the  rear,  though  far 
below,  you  will  see  how  impossible  it  was  for  the 
wounded  savages  to  escape  down  the  rugged  crags 
to  the  left,  or  up  and  over  the  crescent  of  snow  to 
the  right.  They  could  not  turnback;  they  could 
not  turn  to  the  left,  nor  to  the  right;  so  they  kept  on. 


STORY    OF    A    BATTLE    WITH    THE    INDIANS.       145 

*'  Two  of  them  got  through  and  over  the  ridge 
and  onto  the  steep  slope  of  snow,  and  slid  down 
almost  to  the  lake,  where  they  lay  for  a  few  moments 
concealed  in  the  tall  grass.  But  their  relentless  red 
enemies  followed  their  crimson  trail,  found  and 
tomahawked  and  scalped  them  where  they  lay,  and 
threw  their  bodies  into  the  lake. 

"  Like  all  decisive  battles  with  swift-footed  sav- 
ages, this  one  covered  a  large  field.  The  fighting, 
or  at  least  the  dead,  and  the  blood  on  the  rocks  and 
snow,  reached  from  the  south  shore  of-Crook's  Lake 
to  the  north  base  of  Battle  Rock.  The  cross  cut  in 
the  white  spruce-tree,  by  the  hand  that  writes  this, 
and  not  far  from  the  northernmost  bank  of  the  lake, 
may  be  set  down  as  the  outer  edge  of  the  battle- 
ground in  that  direction. 

"  You  will  find  small  stone  cairns  set  up  here  and 
there  on  heads  of  granite  rocks  that  break  above  the 
snow.  It  is  the  custom  for  an  Indian  when  pass- 
ing the  scene  of  some  great  disaster,  especially  if 
alone,  to  place  in  a  conspicuous  position  a  stone  by 
the  way,  in  memory  of  his  dead.  He  never  rears 
his  monument  at  one  time,  as  does  the  white 
man.  He  places  but  one  stone,  often  a  very 
small  one,  and  leaves  the  rest  to  time  and  to  other 
hands. 

"I  will  add  Captain  Gibson's  story  of  the  fight, 
from  his  own  trembling  hand : 


146  WESTERN   SERIES    OF    READERS. 

"Gibson's  Switch,  Sacramento  River,  July  25,  1893. 

"  In  the  year  1855,  there  being  a  great  rush  of 
miners  here,  the  Sacramento  River  and  other  streams 
became  muddy,  and  thereby  obstructing  the  run  of 
fish.  The  Indians  became  very  indignant  on  ac- 
count of  its  stopping  the  run  of  fish,  which  was 
their  principal  living.  They  commenced  making 
preparations  for  hostilities  by  getting  into  strong- 
holds, the  principal  one  being  the  Castle  Crags. 
Captain  Crook  came  to  the  east  fork  of  the  Trinity 
about  twelve  miles  from  here  with  a  company  of 
regulars,  and  went  out  to  Castle  Crags  with  a  view 
to  break  up  the  band,  but  failed  to  engage  them. 

"  I  sent  him  a  letter  telling  him  the  way  I  was 
situated,  so  that  by  raising  some  men  I  could  de- 
stroy them.  His  answer  was  to  do  so,  which  I  did. 
We  had  a  severe  fight, —  some  men  killed  and  a 
number  wounded.  We  also  found  that  the  arrows 
were  Modoc  arrows;  also  amongst  the  dead  two 
Modoc  chiefs.  I  sent  word  of  the  battle  to  Captain 
Crook,  and  he  gave  it  his  hearty  approval,  and 
thanked  me. 

"  We  had  and  have  every  reason  to  believe  that 
the  Indians  intended  to  consolidate  and  make  a 
general  outbreak,  as  the  Modocs  did  soon  after  do; 
and  there  is  no  doubt  but  they  would  have  done 
it  had  it  not  been  for  that  battle  as  aforesaid  at 
Castle  Crags.  Captain  Crook  was  afterward  the 
famous  Indian  fighter.  General  Crook.  I  was  en- 
abled to  reach  these  Indians,  which  Crook  could 
not,  through  my  father-in-law,  Wielputus,  the  chief 
of  the  Shastas.  We  took  twenty-nine  of  his  men 
with  us.  H.  P.  Gibson." 


SAN    FRANCISCO. 

(from  the  sea.) 
by  bret  harte. 


s 


ERENE,  indifferent   of  Fate, 
Thou  sittest  at  the  Western  Gate; 


Upon  thy  height,  so  lately  won, 
Still  slant  the  banners  of  the  sun; 

Thou  seest  the  white  seas  strike  their  tents, 
0  Warder  of  two  Continents! 

And,  scornful  of  the  peace  that  flies 
Thy  angry  winds  and  sullen  skies, 

Thou  drawest  all  things,  small  or  great, 
To  thee,  beside  the  Western  Gate. 


0  lion's  whelp,  that  hidest  fast 

In  jungle  growth  of  spire  and  mast! 

1  know  thy  cunning  and  thy  greed, 
Thy  hard  high  lust  and  willful  deed, 

147 


148  WESTERN  SERIES   OF   READERS. 

And  all  thy  glory  loves  to  tell 
Of  specious  gifts  material. 

Drop  down,  0  Fleecy  Fog,  and  hide 
Her  skeptic  sneer  and  all  her  pride! 

Wrap  her,  0  Fog,  in  gown  and  hood 
Of  her  Franciscan  Brotherhood. 

Hide  me  her  faults,  her  sin  and  blame; 
With  thy  gray  mantle  cloak  her  shame! 

So  shall  she  cowled,  sit  and  pray 
Till  morning  bears  her  sins  away. 

Then  rise,  0  Fleecy  Fog,  and  raise 
The  glory  of  her  coming  days; 

Be  as  the  cloud  that  flecks  the  seas 
Above  her  smoky  argosies ; 

When  forms  familiar  shall  give  place 
To  stranger  speech  and  newer  face; 

When  all   her  throes  and  anxious  fears 
Lie  hushed  in  the  repose  of  years; 

When  Art  shall  raise  and  Culture  lift 
The  sensual  joys  and  meaner  thrift, 


SAN   FRANCISCO. 


149 


And  all  fulfilled  the  vision  we 

Who  watch  and  wait  shall  never  see. 

Who  in  the  morning  of  her  race, 
Toiled  fair  or  meanly  in  our  place, 

But,  yielding  to  the  common  lot, 
Lie  unrecorded  and  forgot. 


"  ^-i:,. 


OLD    CALIFORNIANS. 


'Tis  a  land  so  far  that  you  wonder  whether 
E'en  God  would  know  it  should  you  fall  down  dead  ; 

'T  is  a  land  so  fair  through  the  wilds  and  weather, 
That  the  sun  falls  weary  and  flushed  and  red, — 

That  the  sea  and  the  sky  seem  coming  together. 
Seem  closing  together  as  a  book  that  is  read : 

Oh  !  the  nude,  weird  West,  where  an  unnamed  river 
Rolls  restless  in  bed  of  bright  silver  and  gold  ; 

Where  white  flashing  mountains  flow  rivers  of  silver 
As  a  rock  of  the  desert  flowed  fountains  of  old  ; 

By  a  dark-wooded  river  that  calls  to  the  dawn, 
And  makes  mouths  at  the  sea  with  his  dolorous  swan 

Oh !  the  land  of  the  wonderful  sun  and  weather, 
With  green  under  foot  and  with  gold  over  head, 

Where  the  sun  takes  flame,  and  you  wonder  whether 
'T  is  an  isle  of  fire  in  his  foamy  bed  ; 

Where  the  ends  of  the  earth  they  are  welding  together 
In  rough-hewn  fashion,  in  a  forge-flame  red. 


COMMEND  me  to  the  old  Californian.  I  should 
say  that  an  old  gold-hunter  of  '49,  standing 
on  a  peak  of  the  Sierras  with  the  world  behind 
him,  storm-blown  and  beaten,  yet  with  hands  and 
heart  open,  unsullied  by  any  sin  of  the  populous 
world  below,  stands  not  far  from  God. 

150 


OLD    CALIFORNIANS.  151 

They  climb'd  the  rock-built  breasts  of  earth, 

The  Titan -fronted,  billowy  steeps 

That  cradled  Time.    .    .    .    Where  Freedom  keeps 

Her  flag  of  white-blown  stars  unfurl'd. 

They  turn'd  about,  they  saw  the  birth 

Of  sudden  dawn  upon  the  world : 

Again  they  gazed;  they  saw  the  face 

Of  God,  and  named  it  boundless  space. 

All,  there  have  been  clouds  in  the  old  Califor- 
nian's  life;  storms  and  wrecks,  and  years  of  clouds! 
And  even  still  there  are  more  than  enough  in  the 
West  to  make  the  sunset  glorious.  But  the  world 
is  away  off  to  him.  He  has  memories — a  lock  of 
hair  in  his  hand,  a  little  song  in  his  heart.  He 
lives  alone  in  the  past.  Life,  love — all  with  him 
are  over;  but  he  does  not  complain.  May  he  strike 
it  yet  in  the  shaft  he  is  still  sinking,  in  the  great 
tunnel  he  is  still  boring  into  the  mountains,  and  go 
back  to  his  waiting  wife  and  babes.  Alas!  his  babes 
are  full-grown;  he  will  never  see  his  babies  any  more. 

It  is  to  be  allowed  that  these  men  were  not  at  all 
careful  of  the  laws,  either  ancient  or  modern,  eccle- 
siastical or  lay.  They  w^ould  curse.  They  would 
fight  like  dogs — aye,  like  Christians — in  battle.  But 
there  was  more  solid  honor  among  them  than  the 
world  will  ever  see  again  in  any  body  of  men,  I  fear, 
till  it  approaches  the  millennium. 

Do  you  know  where  the  real  old  Californian  is — 
the  giant,  the  world-builder? 


152  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

He  is  sitting  by  the  trail  high  up  on  the  moun- 
tain. His  e3^es  are  dim,  and  his  head  is  white.  His 
hands  are  not  strong.  His  pick  and  shovel  are  at 
his  side.  His  feet  are  weary  and  sore.  He  is  still 
prospecting.  Pretty  soon  he  will  sink  his  last  pros- 
pect hole  in  the  Sierra. 

Some  younger  men  will  come  along,  and  lengthen 
it  out  a  little,  and  lay  him  in  his  grave.  The  old 
miner  will  have  passed  on  to  prospect  the  outcrop- 
pings  that  star  the  floors  of  heaven. 

He  is  not  numerous  now;  but  I  saw  him  last 
summer  high  up  on  the  head-waters  of  the  Sacra- 
mento. His  face  is  set  forever  away  from  tliat  civ- 
ilization which  has  passed  him  by.  He  is  called  a 
tramp  now.  And  the  new,  nice  people  who  have 
slid  over  the  plains  in  a  palace  car  and  settled  down 
there,  set  dogs  on  him  sometimes  when  he  comes 
that  w^ay. 

I  charge  you,  treat  the  old  Californian  well  wher- 
ever you  find  him.  He  has  seen  more,  suffered 
more,  practiced  more  self-denial  than  can  now  fall 
to  the  lot  of  any  man. 

I  never  see  one  of  these  old  prospectors  without 
thinking  of  Ulysses,  and  wondering  if  any  Penelope 
still  weaves  and  unweaves,  and  waits  the  end  of  his 
wanderings.  Will  any  old  blind  dog  stagger  forth 
at  the  sound  of  his  voice,  lick  his  hand,  and  fall 
down  at  his  feet? 


OLD    CALIFORNIANS.  153 

No,  he  will  never  return.  He  has  not  heard  from 
home  for  twenty  years. 

And  though  he  may  die  there  in  the  pines  on  the 
mighty  mountain,  while  still  feebly  searching  for 
the  golden  fleece,  do  not  forget  that  his  life  is  an  epic, 
noble  as  any  handed  down  from  out  the  dusty  eld. 
I  implore  you,  treat  him  kindly.  Someday  a  fitting 
poet  will  come,  and  then  he  will  take  his  place 
among  the  heroes  and  the  gods. 

But  there  is  another  old  Californian — a  wearier 
man — the  successful  one.  He,  too,  is  getting  gray. 
But  he  is  a  power  in  the  land.  He  is  a  prince  in 
fact  and  in  act.  What  strange  fate  was  it  that 
threw  dust  in  the  eyes  of  that  old  Californian,  sit- 
ting by  the  trail  liigh  up  on  the  mountain,  and 
blinded  him  so  that  he  could  not  see  the  gold  just 
within  his  grasp  a  quarter  of  a  century  ago  ?  And 
what  good  fairy  was  it  that  led  this  other  old  Cali- 
fornian, now  the  banker,  the  railroad  king,  or  sena- 
tor, to  where  the  mountain  gnomes  had  hidden 
their  gold? 

What  accidental  beggars  and  princes  we  have  in 
the  world  to-day!  But  whether  beggar  or  prince, 
the  old  Californian  stands  a  head  and  shoulders 
taller  than  his  fellows  wherever  you  may  find  him. 
This  is  a  solid,  granite  truth. 

Our  dead  are  the  mighty  majority  of  old  Califor- 
nians!     No  one  w^ould  guess  how  numerous  they 


154 


WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 


are.  California  was  one  vast  battle-field.  The 
knights  of  the  nineteenth  century  lie  buried  in  her 
bosom;  while  here  and  there,  over  the  mountain- 
tops,  totters  a  lone  survivor,  still  prospecting. 

The  Crusades  knew  not  braver  knight 
Than  these  brave  men  before  her  walls  ; 

The  noblest  in  the  old-time  fight 
Matched  not  the  humblest  here  that  falls. 

And  never  were  there  worn  such  scars 

As  these  won  in  these  nobler  wars. 

These  bloodless  wars,  that  bring  not  pain 

These  priceless  victories  of  Peace, 
Where  Pride  is  slain,  where  Self  is  slain. 

Where  Patience  hath  her  victories  ; 
Where,  when  at  last  the  gates  are  down. 
You  have  not  burned,  but  built,  a  town. 


MY  NEW  YEAR'S  GUESTS. 

BY   ROLIilN    M.    DAGGETT. 

Scene  :  A  chamber  in  Virginia  City ;  one  of  the  pictures  on 
the  walls  being  the  reduced  photographs  of  over  five  hundred 
California  Pioneers  of  1849. 

Time  :    Midnight,  December,  31,  1881. 

rilHE  winds  come  cold  from  the  southward,  with 

J-        incense  of  fir  and  pine, 

And  the  flying  clouds  grow  darker,  as  they  halt 
and  fall  in  line; 

The  valleys  that  reach  the  deserts,  the  mountains 
that  greet  the  clouds. 

Lie  bare  in  the  arms  of  Winter,  which  the  gather- 
ing Night  enshrouds; 

The  leafless  sage  on  the  hillside,  the  willows  low 

down  the  stream, 
And  the  sentry  rocks  above  us  have  faded  all  as  a 

dream ; 
And  the  fall  of  the  stamp  grows  fainter,  the  voices 

of  night  sing  low, 
And  freed  from  labor,  the  miner  toils  through  the 

drifting  snow. 

155 


156  WESTERN   SERIES   OF   READERS. 

As  I  sit  alone  in  my  chamber,  this  last  of  the  dying 
year, 

Dim  shades  of  the  past  surround  me,  and  faint 
through  the  storm  I  hear 

Old  tales  of  the  castles  builded  under  shelving  rock 
and  pine. 

Of  the  bearded  men  and  stalwart,  I  greeted  in  Forty- 
nine; 

The  giants  with  hopes  audacious,  the  giants  with 

iron  limb, 
The  giants  who  journeyed  westward,  when  the  trails 

were  new  and  dim; 
The  giants  who  felled  the  forests,  made  pathways 

over  the  snows. 
And  planted  the  vine  and  fig-tree  where  the  man- 

zanita  grows; 

Who  swept  down  the  mountain  gorges,  and  painted 
the  endless  night 

With  their  cabins  rudely  fashioned,  and  their  camp- 
fires'  ruddy  light ; 

Who  builded  great  towns  and  cities,  who  swung 
back  the  Golden  Gate, 

And  hewed  from  a  mighty  ashlar  the  form  of  a 
sovereign  State; 

Who  came  like  a  flood  of  waters  to  a  thirsty  desert 
plain, 


MY    NEW   year's    GUESTS.  157 

And  where  there  had  been  no  reapers  grew  valleys 
of  golden  grain. 

No  wonder  that  this  strange  music  sweeps  in  from 

the  silent  past, 
And  comes  with  the  storm  this  evening,  and  blends 

into  strains  with  the  blast; 
Nor  wonder  that  through  the  darkness  should  enter 

a  spectral  throng, 
And  gather  around  my  table  with    the   old-time 

smile  and  song! 

For  there  on  the  wall  before  me,  in  a  frame  of  gilt 
and  brown, 

With  a  chain  of  years  suspended,  old  faces  are  look- 
ing down; 

Five  hundred  all  grouped  together  —  five  hundred 
old  Pioneers;  — 

Now  list,  as  I  raise  the  taper  and  trace  the  steps  of 
the  years. 

Behold  this  face  near  the  center;  —  we  met  ere  his 

locks  were  gray. 
His  purse,  like  his  heart,  was  open ;  he  struggles  for 

bread  to-day. 
To  this  one  the  fates  were  cruel;  but  he  bore  his 

burden  well, 
And  the  willow  bends  in  sorrow  by  the  wayside 

where  he  fell. 


158  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

Great  losses  and  grief  crazed  this  one;  great  riches 

turned  this  one's  head; 
And  a  faithless  wife  wrecked  this  one  —  he  lives,  but 

were  better  dead. 
Now  closer  the  light  on  this  face;  —  't  was  wrinkled 

when  we  were  young; 
His  touch  drew  our  footsteps  Westward;  his  name 

is  on  every  tongue. 
Rich  was  he  in  lands  and  kindness;  but  the  human 

deluge  came, 
And  left  him  at  last  with  nothing  but  death  and  a 

deathless  fame. 

'T  was  a  kindly  hand  that  grouped  them,  these 

faces  of  other  years; 
The  rich  and  the  poor  together  —  the  hopes,  and 

the  smiles,  and  tears 
Of  some  of  the  fearless  hundreds,  who  went,  like 

the  knights  of  old, 
The  banner  of  empire  bearing,  to  the  land  of  blue 

and  gold. 

For  years  have  I  watched  these  shadows,  as  others 
I  know  have  done; 

As  Death  touched  their  lips  with  silence,  I  have 
draped  them  one  by  one. 

Till,  seen  where  the  dark-plumed  angel  has  min- 
gled here  and  there, 


MY    NEW   year's    GUESTS.  159 

The  brows  I  have  flecked  with  sable  cloud  the  liv- 
ing everywhere. 

Darker,  and  darker,  and  darker  these  shadows  will 

yearly  grow, 
As  changing  the  seasons  bring  us  the  bud  and  the 

falling  snow; 
And  soon  —  let  me  not  invoke  it !  —  the  final  prayer 

will  be  said, 
And  strangers  will  write  the  record,  "  The  last  of 

the  group  is  dead." 

And  then  —  but  why  stand  here  gazing?  A  gath- 
ering storm  in  my  eyes 

Is  mocking  the  weeping  tempest  that  billows  the 
midnight  skies; 

And  stranger  still, —  is  it  fancy?  —  are  my  senses 
dazed  and  weak?  — 

The  shadowy  lips  are  moving  as  if  they  would  ope 
and  speak ! 

And  I  seem  to  hear  low  whispers,  and  catch  the 

echo  of  strains 
That  rose  from  the  golden  gulches  and  followed  the 

moving  trains; 
The  scent  of  the  sage  and  desert,  the  path  on  the 

rocky  height. 
The  shallow  graves  by  the  roadside, —  all,  all  have 

come  back  to-night! 


160  WESTERN    SERIES    OF    READERS. 

And  the  mildewed  years,  like  stubble,  I  trample 

under  my  feet, 
And  drink  again  at  the  fountain,  when  the  wine  of 

life  was  sweet; 
And  I  stand  once  more  exalted,  where  the  white 

pine  frets  the  skies, 
And  dream  in  the  winding  canon,  where  early  the 

twilight  dies. 

Now  the  eyes  look  down  in  sadness,  the  pulse  of  the 

year  beats  low, 
The  storm  has  been  awed  to  silence;  the  muffled 

hands  of  the  snow, 
Like  the  noiseless  feet  of  mourners,  are  spreading 

a  pallid  sheet 
O'er  the  heart  of  dead  December,  and  glazing  the 

shroud  with  sleet. 

Hark!  the  bells  are  chiming  midnight;  the  storm 

bends  its  listening  ear. 
While  the  moon  looks  through  the  cloud-rifts  and 

blesses  the  new-born  year. 
Bar  closely  the  curtained  windows,  shut  the  light 

from  every  pane, 
While,  free  from  the  worldly  intrusion,  and  curious 

eyes  profane, 
I  take  from  its  leathern  casket  a  dented  old  cup  of 

tin. 


MY    NEW    YEAR  S    (tUE8T8. 


161 


More  precious  to  me  than  silver,  and  blessing  the 

draught  within, 
I  drink  alone  and   in  silence  to  the  "  Builders  of 

the  West"  — 
"  Long  life  to  the  hearts  still  beating,  and  j^eace  to 

the  hearts  at  rest!" 


appe:n^dix. 


WHO   NAMED   CALIFORNIA? 

[alifornia  is  mentioned  for  the  first  time, 
so  far  as  any  one  has  been  able  to  dis- 
cover, in  an  old  Spanish  romance, 
printed  in  1510.  The  name  appears  in 
the  following  passages : 

"  Know  that,  on  the  right  hand  of  the 
Indies,  very  near  to  the  Terrestrial  Para, 
dise,  there  is  an  island  called  California, 
which  was  peopled  with  black  women, 
without  any  men  among  them,  because 
they  were  accustomed  to  live  after  the 
fashion  of  Amazons. 

''  In  this  island  are  many  griffins,  on 
account  of  the  great  savageness  of  the 
country  and  the  immense  quantity  of 
wild  game  found  there. 

"Now,  in  the  time  that  those  great 
men  of  the  Pagus  sailed  (against  Constantinople), 
with  those  great  fleets  of  which  I  have  told  you, 
there  reigned  in  this  land  of  California  a  queen, 
large  of  body,  very  beautiful,  in  the  prime  of  her 
years,"  etc. 

J  65 


166  WESTERN   SERIES   OF    READERS. 

The  name  California  next  appears  in  the  memoirs 
of  the  Conquistador  Bernal  Diaz  del  Castillo,  who 
served  with  Cortez  in  the  conquest  of  Mexico.  He 
writes  that  ''Cortez  again  set  sail  from  Santa  Cruz, 
and  discovered  the  coast  of  California." 

"The  name  California  was  gradually  used  to 
designate  the  region  from  the  Gulf  of  California  to 
the  mythical  *  Straits  of  Anian '  (which  were  very 
probably  Bering  Straits)." 

"The  country  was  called  New  Albion  by  Sir 
Francis  Drake  in  1579." 

"  In  recent  times  the  region  north  of  San  Diego 
was  called  Alta  California,  and  that  to  the  south, 
Baja  California." 

The  name  California,  derived  from  the  two  Span- 
ish w^ords,  caliente  fonialla, —  i.  e.  *' hot  furnace," — 
was  given  by  Cortez,  in  the  year  1535,  to  the  penin- 
sula now  known  as  Old  (or  Lower)  California,  of 
w^hich  he  was  the  discoverer,  on  account  of  its  hot 
climate. 


A   SHORT   LIST   OF   BOOKS   OF   REFERENCE. 
(for  the  use  of  teachers.) 

The  following  books  were  consulted  by  the  author  in  the 
preparation  of  the  "  Pacific  History  Stories,"  and  are  valu- 
able for  reading  or  special  study  :— 

Bancroft,  H.  H History  of  California. 

"  "        .     .     .    .  History  of  the  Central  American 

States. 

Blackmar,  F.  W Spanish  Institutions  of  the  North- 
west. 

Davidson,  G Early  Voyages    of    Discovery  on 

the  Northwest  Coast  of  America. 

Fremont,  J    C The  Story  of  My  Life. 

Frost,  J History  of  California. 

Harte,  Bret Poems. 

Hittell,  J.  S History  of  San  Francisco. 

Hittell,  T.  H History  of  California.    2  vols. 

LuMMis,  C.  F Spanish  Pioneers. 

McGlashan,  C.  F.     .     .     ,  History  of  the  Donner  Party. 

Miller,  Joaquin  ....  Unwritten  History. 

Palou,  F Life  of  Junipero  Serra. 

Thomas,  P.  J Historical  Outlines— Founding  the 

Missions. 

167 


168  WESTERN    SERIES   OF    READERS. 

TowLE,  G.  M Drake. 

'*  "  Magellan. 

TuTHiLL,  F History  of  California. 

Vexegas,  M Natural  and  Civil  History  of  Cal- 
ifornia. 

Wagner,  Madge  Morris  .  Poems. 

WiNSOR,  J Narrative  and  Critical  History  of 

America. 

Blackwood's  Magazine  .  Lives  of  Balboa  and  Pizarro.   Vol. 

32,  p.  359. 

Golden  Era  Magazine. 

Harper's  Magazine     .     .  Balboa.    Vol.  3,    p.    167;    vol.   18, 

p.  467. 

Lewis  <k  Clark  Journals. 

Overland  Monthly. 


^ 


id  juj/y 


^  ,:-  -^-s^-  ^^':i~:-  ^.i^fff^ 


^69875^ 


Hc^ 


THE  UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  UBRARY 


f 


^^^. 


